THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

INJUN' 

and. 

'WHITER 


WILII 


HART 


GOLDEN 


131 


/7/WT  i 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 


Whitey's  solid  fist  landed  on  Injun's  jaw 


THE 
GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

"INJUN"  AND  "WHITEY" 

A  Story  of  Adventure 
BY 

WILLIAM  S.  HART 

ILLUSTRATIONS  BY  MORRIS  H.  PANCOAST 


BOSTON   AND   NEW  YORK 

HOUGHTON  MIFFLIN  COMPANY 

$fc  fitocrsibe  prrgjj  CambnDge 


COPYRIGHT,  1919,  BY 
WILLIAM  S.  HART 

MADE  IN  U.   S.   A. 

All  Rights  Reserved 


[Theatre  Arts 
IJbrary 


* 

(7 


TO  MY  BOY  FRIENDS 


TO    MY    BOY    FRIENDS    ALL    OVER 
THE     WORLD 

The  first  fifteen  years  of  my  life  were  spent 
in  the  Dakota  Territory.  The  great  West 
mothered  me  during  the  shaping  of  my  boy- 
hood ambitions  and  ideals.  Therefore,  I  know 
by  personal  experience  much  of  the  actual  life 
of  our  frontier  days. 

Let  me  relate  a  few  unusual  stories  of  early 
environment  which  will  show  why  a  man 
brought  up  in  the  West  never  forgets  its  his- 
tory, traditions  and  life. 

While  boys  of  my  age  in  the  East  were 
playing  baseball,  football  and  the  various  school 
games,  I  was  forced  through  environment  to 
play  the  more  primitive  games  of  the  Indian. 
I  lived  on  the  frontier.  White  settlers  were 
scarce.  Naturally,  I  had  but  a  few  boy  com- 
panions of  my  own  race.  A  boy  is  a  boy  no 
vii 


TO  MY  BOY  FRIENDS 


matter  what  race  or  country;  therefore,  we 
played  with  the  Indian  youths. 

In  this  way,  I  learned  to  ride  Indian-style 
as  well  as  with  the  saddle;  I  learned  to  shoot 
accurately  with  rifle  or  six-gun;  I  learned  to 
hunt  and  track  with  the  wisdom  of  my  red 
friends;  and  I  learned  to  play  the  rugged,  body- 
building games  of  the  native  Americans,  which 
called  for  the  greatest  endurance  and  best 
sportsmanship.  In  short,  I  was  a  Western 
boy. 

For  instance,  we  used  to  sail  primitive  In- 
dian ice-boats  on  the  upper  Missouri  river. 
This  sport  was  the  chief  joy  of  my  winter  days. 
With  our  Indian  boy  friends  we  would  con- 
struct the  ice-boat  in  this  fashion: 

Taking  a  suitable  number  of  barrel-staves, 
we  lashed  them  together  lengthwise  with  buck- 
skin thongs.  Thus  the  staves  were  raised  from 
the  surface  both  in  the  front  and  rear,  making 
a  canoe  effect.  Then  a  soap  box  was  placed 
in  the  middle  of  the  craft.  Next  we  placed  a 
stout  pole  upright  in  the  front  end  of  the  box. 
viii 


ALL  OVER  THE  WORLD 

To  a  crosspiece  on  the  pole  we  lashed  a  blanket. 
We  were  then  all  ready  to  go. 

When  the  winter  winds  hit  those  rude  sails, 
we  traveled  so  far  and  so  fast  in  one  direction 
that  it  would  take  us  all  day  to  walk  back 
home. 

During  my  Dakota  boyhood  I  not  only  ac- 
quired the  accomplishments  of  the  West,  but  I 
met  some  of  the  most  famous  characters  of 
frontier  days — white  and  red  men.  In  fact, 
my  early  days  of  intimate  relationship  with  the 
Sioux  Indians  enabled  me  to  learn  their  tribal 
traits  and  history  nearly  as  well  as  I  know 
our  own.  I  speak  the  "silent  tongue"- — the  sign 
language  of  the  Sioux  which,  by  the  way,  is 
understood  by  all  Indian  tribes. 

In  those  days  the  luxuries  and  even  many  of 
the  necessities  of  civilization  were  denied  us  in 
1  cur  frontier  settlements.  My  mother  brought 
four  children  into  this  world,  attended  by  Sioux 
squaws  because  a  doctor  could  not  be  procured. 
And,  when  a  vicious  rattler  nearly  ended  my 
career  at  the  age  of  twelve  years,  a  squaw  offi- 
ciated as  the  doctor,  the  nearest  physician  being 
ix 


TO  MY  BOY  FRIENDS 


engaged  in  punching  cows  at  a  ranch  some 
sixty  miles  distant.  That  the  Sioux  squaw 
was  a  good  doctor  is  proven  by  the  fact  that  I 
am  alive  today. 

I  relate  these  incidents  merely  to  acquaint 
the  public  with  the  West  as  I  knew  it. 

When  Western  plays  were  first  tried  out  on 
the  American  stage,  I  was  an  actor  of  consid- 
erable experience.  Previous  to  this  time  in 
theatrical  history  I  had  played  many  diversified 
roles,  including  those  of  Shakespeare. 

As  Cash  Hawkins  in  "The  Squaw  Man,"^ 
produced  at  Wallack's  Theatre,  New  York 
City,  in  1905,  it  was  my  good  fortune  to  be 
able  to  give  the  American  public  a  typical 
Western  character.  My  success  in  this  char- 
acter opened  up  a  subsequent  line  of  Western 
roles  for  me,  the  emphatic  success  of  "The 
Squaw  Man"  causing  the  production  of  many 
Western  plays.  Considerable  comment  was 
caused  by  my  repeated  successes  in  these  char- 
acters that  I  knew  as  a  boy  and  loved  so  well. 
Many  persons  who  were  interested  in  my  work 
marveled  at  the  realism  of  the  interpretations. 


ALL  OVER  THE  WORLD 

Their  enthusiasm  persuaded  me  that  the  entire 
American  public  loved  the  West  and  its  tradi- 
tions when  presented  with  truthfulness — and 
the  boys  most  of  all. 

Unfortunately,  other  sections  of  the  United 
States  had  long  been  deluged  with  sensational 
"thrillers"  of  the  West  on  the  melodramatic 
stage,  in  dime  novels  and  later  in  the  early 
motion  pictures.  Many  intelligent  people  had 
formed  the  most  weird  and  distorted  ideas  of 
the  West  from  the  history  of  frontier  days  to 
the  present. 

In  1914  Western  pictures  were,  to  use  the 
language  of  the  motion-picture  producers,  "a 
drug  on  the  market." 

Now  I  loved  the  themes  of  these  plays.  It 
hurt  me  to  know  that  what  I  loved  was  not 
appreciated  simply  because  the  true  West  was 
sacrificed  on  the  altar  of  sensationalism.  Real- 
izing that  because  of  my  early  associations  of 
the  West  and  my  training  as  an  actor  com- 
bined, I  was  qualified  to  rectify  many  mistakes 
which  were  then  being  made  in  the  production 
of  Western  photoplays,  I  decided  to  try  my 
xi 


TO  MY  BOY  FRIENDS 


luck.  To  give  the  American  public  the  benefit 
of  all  I  knew  of  the  West  from  experience  and 
training  became  my  one  ambition.  In  turn,  I 
would  enjoy  the  gratification  of  doing  some- 
thing that  I  had  longed  to  do  all  my  life.  And, 
naturally,  I  hoped  for  increased  fame  and 
financial  success.  My  continued  success  in 
Western  roles  on  the  stage  revealed  to  me  that 
what  the  public  desired  most  of  motion  pictures 
of  the  West  was  consistent  realism.  Of  this 
fact  I  was  so  thoroughly  convinced  that  I  was 
ready  to  sacrifice  my  standing  on  the  legitimate 
stage,  purchased  by  long  years  of  toil  and  hard 
knocks,  to  take  a  chance  with  fate. 

So  I  declined  a  flattering  and  remunerative 
offer  from  a  big  theatrical  firm  in  New  York 
City  and  paid  my  own  railroad  fare  to  Cali- 
fornia. In  May,  1914,  I  started  my  work  in 
Western  pictures  as  a  star  at  the  salary  of  $75 
a  week,  with  no  other  financial  interest  of  any 
nature.  Such  was  the  status  of  Western  pho- 
toplays at  that  time.  Nearly  five  years  have 
passed  since  that  eventful  time  in  my  career. 
That  I  have  devoted  this  lengthy  period  ex- 
xii 


ALL  OVER  THE  WORLD 

clusively  to  the  production  of  Western  pictures 
is  the  best  proof  that  the  American  public  pos- 
sesses a  love  for  the  West  that  will  endure  for 
all  time. 

"The  Golden  West  Boys"  is  my  answer  to  the 
thousands  of  letters  I  have  received  from  the 
boys — most  of  them,  of  course,  from  America, 
but  many  from  all  points  of  the  compass.  My 
story  in  verse,  "Pinto  Ben,"  and  my  prose 
story  "The  Savage"  have  been  translated  and 
published  in  the  Swedish  language.  With  the 
war  over  translations  in  other  languages  are 
to  follow. 

All  Hail  the  Boys !— I  shall  never  "go  broke" 
as  long  as  I  hold  their  esteem.  My  next  story 
will  continue  the  "Golden  West"  Series  in 
which  "Injun  and  Whitey  Strike  out  For 
Themselves." 

"So  long,  boys — take  keer  o'  yerselves." 
Faithfully  yours, 

W.  S.  H. 


Xlll 


CONTENTS 

SUPm  «*GZ 

I  NEWS  FROM  THE  WEST      .      .      .     *      •  17 

II    PREPARATIONS 28 

III  OFF  FOR  THE  GOLDEN  WEST    ,    .    .  40 

IV  ON  THE  WAY 47 

V  INJUN    ...........  56 

VI    BILL  JORDON       62 

VII  WESTERN  AIR  AND  APPETITE    ...  68 

VIII  WHITEY  LEARNS  TO  RIDE    «     .<   .    .  78 

IX  THE  BOYS  SETTLE  A  QUESTION    .    .  84 

X    A  FRIEND  IN  NEED 95 

XI    THE  CHINOOK  WIND 105 

XII  MR.  Ross  PAYS  A  CALL      ....  113 

XIII  THE  LOST  TRAIL 129 

XIV  CROWLEY 153 

XV  THE  CAVE  GIVES  EVIDENCE     ...  159 

XVI    WHITEY  is  MISSING 171 

XVII    HELD  IN  CAPTIVITY 186 

XVIII    INJUN  TAKES  A  HAND 194 

XIX    INJUN  TO  THE  RESCUE 206 

XX  THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  CROWLEY  .    .    .  219 

XXI  INJUN  TACKLES  CIVILIZATION  .    .    .  226 
xv 


XXII 
XXIII 
XXIV 

XXV 

XXVI 

XXVII 

XXVIII 

XXIX 

XXX 
XXXI 


CONTENTS 

MM 

INJUN  SHIES  AT  PINK  PYJAMAS    .    .  233 

WHITEY  His  OWN  Boss 244 

MOOSE  LAKE 254 

THE  ISLAND  IN  MOOSE  LAKE  .    .    .  262 

THE  MAN  ON  THE  ISLAND   ....  268 

A  DANGEROUS  SITUATION     .    .    .    .  274 

A  PENITENT  PRISONER 287 

BRINGING  HOME  THE  CAPTIVE  .    .    .  295 

PEDRO'S  HATRED 305 

PLANS  TOR  THE  FUTURE      .    .    .  _.  312 


XVI 


THE 
GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

CHAPTER  I 

NEWS   FROM   THE  WEST 

"HOORAY!  Hooray!"  shouted  Alan  Sher- 
wood,— better  known  as  "Whitey"  to  the  boys 
in  school.  "Ooo-lu-lulu-loo-lulu !"  he  called, 
making  the  sound  by  putting  his  hand  over  his 
mouth  and  rapidly  pulling  it  away  and  putting 
it  back.  He  considered  this  a  very  good  imi- 
tation of  an  Indian  war-whoop. 

Mr.  Sherwood,  "Whitey's"  father,  had  just 
finished  reading  aloud  a  letter  from  a  firm  of 
lawyers  in  Montana  which  stated  that  Uncle 
Robert  Granville,  who  died  some  weeks  before, 
had  left  a  will  bequeathing  his  large  ranch  and 
everything  on  it  to  Mr.  Sherwood;  and  that, 
17 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

as  the  ranch  was  a  profitable  one,  it  would  be 
necessary  for  him  to  come  to  Montana  and 
either  carry  on  the  business  or  see  to  its 
disposal. 

"Hooray!  Hooray!"  yelled  "Whitey,"  ex- 
ecuting a  very  wild  dance,  and  letting  out  a 
series  of  whoops  that  almost  deafened  the  other 
members  of  the  family. 

"What  are  you  'hooraying*  about?"  asked 
Mr.  Sherwood,  while  his  wife  and  his  two  small 
sisters  held  their  hands  over  their  ears.  "I 
hope/'  said  Mr.  Sherwood,  with  a  quizzical 
smile,  "it  is  not  because  your  poor  uncle  Robert 
is  dead?" 

"Why,  of  course  not,  Father,"  said 
"Whitey,"  somewhat  abashed ;  "I'm  very  sorry 
that  Uncle  Robert  is  dead — but — I'm  just  glad 
that  I'm  going  out  West  and  can  go  hunting 
ind  be  a  cow-boy,  and  maybe  shoot  a  few  griz- 
:ly  bears  and  Indians!" 

"Who  told  you  that  you  were  going?"  asked 
lis  father,  pretending  to  be  very  serious,  but 
laving  hard  work  to  keep  back  a  smile. 

"Well,  I'd  just  like  to  see  myself  staying 
18 


NEWS  FROM  THE  WEST 

here  if  we  owned  a  ranch  out  West!"  said 
"Whitey,"  with  fine  scorn.  "I've  heard  you 
say,  lots  of  times,  that  the  West  is  the  place 
for  a  young  man !" 

Whitey  had  just  attained  the  age  of  fourteen, 
and  Mr.  Sherwood  had  to  conceal  a  smile  be- 
hind his  hand,  as  he  glanced  at  his  wife,  who 
was  an  interested  listener. 

"And  what  do  you  want  to  kill  Indians  for 
• — they  never  did  anything  to  you,  did  they?" 
asked  Mr.  Sherwood. 

"No,"  said  Whitey,  hesitating  about  making 
such  an  admission,  "I  don't  know  as  they  ever 
did  anything  to  me — but  everybody  kills  'em, 
don't  they  ?  In  all  the  Western  books  I  read, 
people  always  kill  'em — 'wipe  'em  out'  is  what 
the  scouts  call  it  in  the  books — make  'em  'bite 
the  dust !'  I  thought  that  was  the  proper  thing 
to  do,"  he  said,  in  defense  of  his  position. 

"Well,"  said  Mr.  Sherwood,  "I  think  I'd 
give  the  matter  a  little  consideration  before  I 
started  the  slaughter.  It  isn't  open  season  for 
Indians  just  now,  and  besides,  if  the  Indians 
should  happen  to  hear  that  you  were  coming, 
19 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

they  might  all  leave,  while  there  is  yet  time 
to  escape  the  White  Avenger!  And  as  for 
the  grizzlies — did  you  ever  see  a  grizzly  bear, 
Son?" 

"Sure,"  said  Whitey,  disdainfully,  "up  at  the 
Bronx  Zoo.  He  was  a  terribly  moth-eaten 
looking  affair — no  life  in  him  at  all !  He  just 
went  sniffing  around  and  all  he  cared  about 
was  to  eat  peanuts.  And  when  the  keeper 
went  into  the  cage,  he  ran  like  he  was  scared 
to  death!" 

"Maybe  he'd  act  a  little  different  if  he  were 
in  his  native  Rockies,  and  you  might  not  have 
any  peanuts  with  you,"  said  Mr.  Sherwood, 
shaking  his  head.  "Would  you  believe  it,  if 
I  told  you  that  a  grizzly  can  run  almost  as 
fast  as  the  fastest  horse?  And  in  the  brush 
and  over  the  rough  ground,  a  great  deal 
faster?" 

"I'd  believe  it,  if  you  say  so;  but  it  doesn't 
seem  possible,"  said  Whitey,  doubtfully.  "If 
he  can  run  that  fast,  it  would  make  him  mighty 
hard  to  catch,  wouldn't  it?"  he  asked,  after 
some  thought. 

20 


NEWS  FROM  THE  WEST 

"It  would,"  laughed  Mr.  Sherwood,  "if  he 
always  ran  the  other  way — but  he  doesn't! 
Sometimes  it's  harder  to  let  him  go  than  it  is 
to  catch  him!  Sometimes  he  runs  after  you 
— and  then  you'd  have  to  'go  some' — as  you 
say." 

"If  he  ever  came  at  me,"  said  Whitey,  bellig- 
erently, "I'd  put  a  bullet  in  his  heart !" 

"Even  that  doesn't  always  stop  a  grizzly, 
right  away,"  said  Mr.  Sherwood.  "They  have 
very  surprising  vitality.  I  think  that,  for  the 
time  being,  I'd  let  the  Indians  and  grizzlies 
alone — let  the  poor  things  live!  At  any  rate, 
you're  not  out  West,  yet,  and  it  may  be  that  I 
shall  decide  not  to  go  at  all — though  I  suppose 
I  shall,"  and  Mr.  Sherwood  proceeded  to  pon- 
der over  the  matter.  Nevertheless,  it  was  plain 
to  be  seen  that  he,  too,  felt  the  call  of  the  moun- 
tain and  the  prairie  almost  as  much  as  did  his 
son. 

Although  a  prosperous  merchant  in  New 

York  he  had  spent  several  years  of  his  early 

life  in  the  great  West;  and  once  a  man  gets 

the  lure  of  the  wilds  in  his  blood,  ne  is  seldom 

21 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

able  to  shake  it  off  altogether.  But  he  felt 
that  there  were  too  many  things  to  be  con- 
sidered— his  business,  his  family  and  their 
welfare  and  the  schooling  of  his  children — to 
make  a  hasty  decision,  pack  up,  bag  and  bag- 
gage, and  leave  a  comfortable  home  for  a  new 
and  untried  one. 

No  one,  not  even  grown-ups,  can  always  do 
just  as  he  likes.  Everybody  has  obligations  to 
others ;  and  there  are  many  things  that  we  all 
must  forego  to  fulfill  those  obligations — as  a 
matter  of  duty.  For  duty  is,  after  all,  nothing 
but  fulfilling  obligations,  and  the  sooner  a  boy 
learns  this,  the  sooner  he  becomes  a  man! 

Alan  Sherwood,  although  he  was  only  four- 
teen years  old,  was  getting  to  be  a  good 
deal  of  a  man.  The  nickname  "Whitey"  had 
been  given  him  by  his  companions  at  school 
on  account  of  his  light  blonde  hair.  He  had 
resented  it,  at  first;  but  after  he  found  out  that 
he  couldn't  "lick  the  whole  school," — although 
he  came  pretty  near  doing  it — he  gradually 
became  resigned  to  it,  and  answered  to  it 
readily. 

22 


NEWS  FROM  THE  WEST 

Whitey  was  large  for  his  age,  and  was  far 
stronger  than  the  average  boy  of  fifteen  or 
sixteen.  This  had  been  brought  about  by  the 
fact  that  he  had  been  a  weakling  up  to  the  time 
he  was  seven  or  eight,  and  had  been  humiliated 
and  imposed  upon  by  the  other  boys  until  he 
determined  to  remedy  his  physical  defects,  if 
hard  work  and  systematic  exercise  would  do  it. 

He  consulted  his  father  and  found  out  that 
the  first  thing  for  an  athlete  to  do  was  to 
breathe  properly,  for  "wind"  is  a  most  import- 
ant thing  in  all  contests  of  strength  and  endur- 
ance. 

"No  matter  how  fast  a  boy  can  run,"  said 
Mr.  Sherwood  who  had  been  a  famous  college 
athlete  in  his  day,  "if  he  hasn't  good  wind,  he 
won't  last  in  a  long  race;  and  even  if  he  is  far 
stronger  than  his  opponent  in  a  boxing  or  a 
wrestling  bout,  he  will  be  beaten  by  the  boy 
who  has  good  wind." 

Whitey  began  by  taking  a  long,  deep  breath, 
as  soon  as  he  came  out  of  doors  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  holding  it  while  he  walked  ten  steps; 
and  this  he  repeated  ten  times.  It  made  him 
23 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

a  little  dizzy,  at  first,  but  he  found  that  he 
could  soon  increase  it  to  twenty  and  thirty  times 
without  discomfort.  He  was  careful  to  make 
the  increase  very  gradually,  stopping  the  deep 
breathing  as  soon  as  he  felt  the  slightest  dizzi- 
ness. 

Then  he  began  to  take  up  systematic  and 
regular  running,  jogging  around  the  block  at 
a  slow  pace,  and  slowing  down  to  a  walk  as 
soon  as  he  felt  his  heart  beating  fast.  He  soon 
found  that  he  could  negotiate  this  without 
breathing  hard,  and  then  he  began  to  increase 
the  (Jistance.  He  had  been  assured  by  his 
father  that  many  boys,  and  men,  too,  who  think 
they  are  training  are  really  hurting  themselves 
by  over-doing  it,  and  are  surprised  to  find  that 
they  do  not  get  into  condition,  being  ignorant 
of  the  fact  that  moderation  is  the  basis  of  all 
success. 

Mr.  Sherwood  pointed  out  to  Whitey  that 
shrewd  baseball  managers  do  not  allow  their 
men  to  exert  themselves  to  the  utmost  in  the 
early  days  of  spring  training,  but  compel  them 
to  "lob  'em  over"  until  their  arm-muscles  be- 
24 


NEWS  FROM  THE  WEST 

come  flexible.  And  they  will  not  allow  a  player 
to  run  bases  at  top  speed  for  fear  that  he  may 
strain  a  tendon  in  his  leg  and  impair  his  speed 
for  a  large  part  of  the  playing  season. 

"It  is  a  hard  thing  for  a  young  and  ambi- 
tious athlete  to  keep  himself  in  check  when  he 
is  brimming  over  with  health  and  strength  and 
enthusiasm,"  said  Mr.  Sherwood,  "but  it  is 
the  real  way  to  train.  Many  a  young  athlete 
ruins  his  chances  for  future  success  by  going 
at  it  too  violently  at  first." 

Of  course,  there  were  many  other  things  that 
Mr.  Sherwood  showed  Whitey,  one  of  the  most 
important  being  regular  hours — regular  hours 
for  sleep  and  for  play;  in  short,  to  be  sys- 
tematic. And  another  thing  of  great  impor- 
tance was  cleanliness — both  of  mind  and  body 
— for  no  boy  or  man  can,  or  ever  did,  become 
a  really  great  athlete  without  the  aid  of  both 
of  these. 

And  as  for  smoking — "Well,"  said  Mr. 
Sherwood,  "I  can't  say  that  there  is  any- 
thing really  wrong  about  a  man  smoking,  but 
for  a  boy  to  smoke  means  that  he  is  willing  to 
25 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

sacrifice  almost  everything  to  that.  It  not  only 
is  apt  to  stunt  his  growth,  but  one  cigarette  may 
destroy  all  the  good  effects  of  a  week's  train- 
ing. And  not  only  that,  it  affects  the  eye  and 
the  nerves — takes  away  accuracy  from  the  eye, 
and  makes  the  hand  unsteady.  I  don't  believe 
it  pays — I  don't  believe  there  is  enough  fun  in 
smoking  to  make  up  for  what  it  costs  a  boy  in 
a  physical  way,  even  if  there  were  no  other 
reasons." 

And  so  Whitey  really  went  into  training 
without  seeming  to  have  done  so — any  boy  can 
do  it;  he  doesn't  need  any  dumb-bells  or  gym- 
nasium apparatus — and  the  result  was,  that  by 
the  time  he  was  thirteen,  he  was  the  strongest 
boy  in  the  school ;  and  what  is  more  important, 
he  had  learned  to  control  himself.  He  wasn't 
nearly  so  anxious  to  fight  as  he  had  been,  al- 
though, when  he  did  get  into  a  fight,  he  was 
able  to  render  a  good  account  of  himself.  It  is 
always  found  that  the  boy  who  really  can  fight 
isn't  nearly  so  quarrelsome  as  the  one  who  is 
always  ready  to  start  a  fight — and  let  some 
other  fellow  finish  it! 

26 


NEWS  FROM  THE  WEST 

Long  after  Whitey  had  gone  to  bed,  and  wa~ 
dreaming  of  picking  up  a  grizzly  bear  by  the 
hind  leg  and  knocking  down  eleven  Indians 
with  him,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sherwood  sat  debating 
the  pros  and  cons  of  going  to  Montana.  And 
it  was  finally  decided  that  before  moving  their 
home  to  the  West,  Mr.  Sherwood  should  go 
out  to  the  ranch  and  learn  what  the  conditions 
were  and  whether  it  was  a  suitable  place  to 
bring  his  family.  And  what  is  more  interest- 
ing, it  was  finally  agreed  that  Whitey  was  to 
go  with  him,  although  this  arrangement  was 
not  made  without  some  protest  from  Mrs.  Sher- 
wood, who  had  a  mother's  natural  solicitude  for 
her  boy.  But  Mr.  Sherwood  said,  with  a  smile 
and  a  shake  of  the  head,  that  he  was  not  at  all 
fearful  about  Whitey — "It's  the  poor  Indians 
and  grkzlies  I'm  sorry  for!" 


CHAPTER  II 

PREPARATIONS 

THE  next  few  days  were  busy  ones  for 
Whitey  and  his  friends.  It  was  vacation  time, 
and  as  soon  as  Whitey  had  the  "honest-to-good- 
ness"  assurance  that  he  was  "really  and  truly" 
going  out  West,  he  lost  no  time  in  communi- 
cating the  news  to  all  the  boys.  He  found  Tom 
Johnson  at  breakfast;  but  after  Tom  had  heard 
the  news,  he  had  no  further  appetite,  and  went 
with  Whitey  over  to  the  home  of  George  and 
Bobby  Smith,  and  the  four  boys  went  out 
to  talk  over  the  matter.  Whitey's  equipment 
was  a  matter  for  much  consideration. 

"Gee!"  said  Tom,  "you'll  need  a  revolver — 
Colt's  forty-five  is  what  all  the  cowboys  use 
— an'  the  sheriffs,  too.  An'  a  Winchester 
rifle." 

28 


PREPARATIONS 


"Yes,"  said  George,  "an'  'f  I  was  you,  I'd 
take  a  lot  o'  fishin'-tackle  and  rods  an'  reels  an' 
things.  You  bet  there's  fish  out  there  in  Mon- 
tana— I've  heard  the  fish  are  so  thick  in  some 
river  out  there  that  you  can  walk  in  an'  ketch 
'em  with  your  hands !" 

"I  guess  you're  thinking  of  the  Columbia 
River  salmon — that  ain't  in  Montana,"  said 
Whitey,  who  was  up  in  geography. 

"Well,"  said  George,  unconvinced,  "it's  right 
out  there  in  the  West,  some  place — mebbe  you 
could  tramp  over  there  some  afternoon.  I 
know  /  would  'f  /  was  out  there !" 

"Well,  I'll  tell  you  what  I'd  do,"  chimed  in 
Bobby,  excitedly,  "  'f  I  was  you,  the  first  thing 
I  got  would  be  a  big  felt  hat  an'  some  cowboy 
clothes!  If  you  don't  they  all  call  you  a  "ten- 
derfoot," an'  they'll  make  you  do  a  dance  by 
shootin'  at  your  feet !  I've  seen  'em  do  it  in  the 
movies  lots  o'  times."  Bobby  was  aged  six, 
but  he  had  advanced  ideas  and  experience,  too. 
"An'  you're  going  to  want  a  saddle  an'  a  lariat 
an'  a  good  pair  o'  snow-shoes — it  snows  fierce 
out  there  in  Montana  an'  Alaska  an'  all  those 
29 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

places — 't  ain't  safe  to  go  any  place  without 
snow-shoes!  A  blizzard  is  liable  to  come  up 
any  old  time !" 

The  wisdom  of  all  this  was  readily  admitted; 
and  after  a  list  had  been  carefully  prepared, 
the  four  boys  went  to  a  big  sporting-goods 
store  and  submitted  it,  and  asked  to  see  the 
various  articles.  The  clerk  looked  the  list  over 
and  got  out  the  various  things  it  called  for, 
which  included  everything  from  a  baseball — 
which  Tom  said  "might  come  in  handy" — to 
snow-shoes.  Each  of  the  boys  handled  and 
carefully  inspected  each  article  and  approved 
it.  Whitey  had  looked  at  some  woodman's 
hatchets,  but  Bobby  suggested  that  Whitey 
could  take  a  tomahawk  away  from  the  first 
Indian  he  killed  and  thus  save  expense. 

"How  much  would  all  that  come  to  ?"  asked 
Whitey,  a  little  apprehensively. 

The  clerk  figured  it  up.  "One  hundred  and 
sixty-eight  dollars  and  forty  cents,"  he  said 
cheerfully. 

A  hurried  audit  of  the  finances  of  the  party 
30 


PREPARATIONS 


revealed  the  fact  that  the  cash  capital  on  hand 
amounted  to  two  thirty-six! 

Jjjust  send  them  up  to  the  house,"  said 
Whitey,  loftily,  and  he  gave  the  name  and  the 
address.  One  of  the  proprietors  stood  near 
and  listened  smilingly  to  the  whole  transaction ; 
and  when  the  boys  had  gone,  he  went  to  the 
telephone. 

Mr.  Sherwood,  in  his  office,  picked  up  the 
receiver,  and  a  familiar  voice  came  over  the 
wire:  "Hello,  Sherwood!  This  is  Robertson. 
Your  boy  was  just  in  here  with  some  friends 
and  bought  out  the  store !  He's  evidently  going 
out  West — with  a  vengeance !" 

"Is  that  so?"  laughed  Mr.  Sherwood.  "What 
did  he  buy?" 

"I  can  tell  you  what  he  didn't  buy  easier  than 
what  he  did!  The  bill  amounts  to  one  hundred 
and  sixty-eight,  forty.  What  do  you  want  me 
to  do? — he  said  to  send  the  stuff  up  to  the 
house!"  and  Robertson  laughed  the  good- 
natured  laugh  of  a  man  who  appreciates  boys. 

"Great  Jehosaphat!"  said  Mr.   Sherwood; 
"What  kind  of  a  selection  did  he  make?" 
31 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

"Well,"  answered  Mr.  Robertson,  "it  isn't 
altogether  bad,  but  of  course,  he's  got  a  lot  of 
things  that  he  won't  need  at  all.  It's  June,  and 
he  has  selected  an  elegant  pair  of  snow-shoes !" 

"My,  my!"  exclaimed  Mr.  Sherwood.  "Can 
you  beat  it?" 

"Yes,"  answered  Mr.  Robertson,  "I  think 
I  can.  He  had  expert  advice  from  the  three 
youngsters  who  were  with  him  and  it  was  more 
or  less  a  consultation  purchase.  One  of  the 
kids  assured  him  that  it  was  the  next  thing  to 
suicide  to  go  around"  Butte,  Montana,  without 
a  compass!  Said  a  man  might  get  into  Butte 
and  wander  'round  and  'round  in  a  circle  and 
never  get  anywhere,  if  he  didn't  have  a  com- 
pass! Ha,  ha!  I  guess  that  beats  the  snow- 
shoes,  doesn't  it?" 

"I'll  have  to  admit  that  it  does !"  laughed  Mr. 
Sherwood.  "Any  other  freak  stuff?" 

"Well,"  laughed  Mr.  Robertson,  "I  wish 
you'd  run  over  here  and  take  a  look  at  it !  Or,  if 
you  say  so,  I'll  send  it  all  up  to  the  house  and 
you  can  return  anything  you  don't  want  him 
to  have.  It  is  certainly  surprising  how  much 
32 


PREPARATIONS 


those  kids  know  about  the  West,  at  that.  I 
suppose  they  get  it  from  the  movies — the  outfit 
wouldn't  be  bad  for  a  man,  but  I  know  you 
don't  want  that  kid  of  yours  to  have  some  of 
the  things.  There's  a  Colt  forty-five  and  a 
'scalping-knife',  the  boys  called  it,  a  foot  long, 
among  other  things." 

"I'm  not  really  surprised,"  laughed  Mr. 
Sherwood.  "The  minute  Alan  heard  the  news 
about  the  ranch,  he  declared  war  on  Indians 
and  grizzlies!  Don't  bother  to  send  the  stuff 
up  to  the  house — I'll  bring  the  boy  in  and  buy 
some  stuff  before  I  go.  Thanks  for  calling  me 
up !  I  need  a  few  things,  myself,  but  they  are 
strictly  in  the  line  of  peace." 

That  evening,  after  dinner,  Mr.  Sherwood 
said,  good-naturedly,  "Mr.  Robertson  tells  me 
that  you  made  a  few  purchases  to-day,  Son?" 

"Yes,"  answered  Whitey,  "but  they  haven't 
come.  I've  been  looking  for  them  all  afternoon 
— I  guess  something's  the  matter." 

"Have  you  got  the  list  of  the  things  you 
ordered?"  asked  his  father.  "I'd  like  to  look 
at  it — maybe  I  can  make  some  suggestions — 
33 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

possibly  you  didn't  get  enough?"  and  Mr.  Sher- 
wood repressed  a  smile. 

"Oh,  yes !  I  guess  I  got  about  everything  I 
wanted.  Tom  and  George  and  Bobby  were 
with  me,  and  the  things  I  didn't  think  of  they 
did.  It  only  came  to  one  hundred  and  sixty- 
eight  dollars,  and  you  know  I've  got  more  than 
two  hundred  in  the  savings  bank."  And 
Whitey  showed  the  list  to  his  father. 

Mr.  Sherwood  examined  it  with  a  good  deal 
of  interest.  "Well,"  he  said,  "this  shows  that 
you  have  been  thinking  the  matter  over  and 
getting  prepared — which  is  all  right.  But  I 
don't  believe  I'd  carry  all  these  things  out  there, 
if  I  were  you.  They  can  be  bought  there  just 
as  well,  and  many  of  them  are  unnecessary. 
It's  summer  now,  and  I  don't  think  you'll  need 
any  snow-shoes  just  yet,  and  as  for  rifle  and 
revolver,  I'm  not  sure  that  I  ought  to  buy  you 
anything  in  that  line  until  you  know  something 
more  than  you  do  about  handling  them.  We'll 
see  to  that  after  we  get  out  there." 

"Do  you  mean  to  say  that  there  are  stores 
34 


PREPARATIONS 


— regular  stores — out  there  in  Montana?" 
asked  Whitey,  in  astonishment. 

"Oh,  yes,"  smiled  Mr.  Sherwood,  "some  very 
fine  ones — you  can  buy  about  anything  there 
that  you  can  here.  And  as  for  those  'cow- 
boy clothes/  I  think  a  couple  of  good  suits 
of  corduroy  would  be  better — the  big  felt  hat 
is  all  right — after  you  get  used  to  it.  I'll  get 
you  everything  you  need,  though  I'd  like  to 
have  you  suggest  things  for  me  to  get  and  I'll 
tell  you  whether  you  should  have  them.  It  is 
well  for  a  boy  to  study  out  those  things  for 
himself,  and  then  take  advice  of  some  one  who 
knows  as  to  the  things  he  really  needs. 

"On  a  man's  first  trip  into  the  West,  he  al- 
most always  takes  a  lot  of  stuff  that  is  of  no 
value  to  him,  and  might  better  be  left  at  home. 
But,  there  is  such  a  thing  as  not  taking  enough, 
and  we'll  be  careful  to  avoid  that." 

Then  he  added,  "And  another  thing,  Son — 
you  won't  find  that  there  is  as  much  difference 
between  New  York  and  Montana  as  you  think. 
You  mustn't  get  the  idea  that  people  out  there 
are  altogether  savages,  and  that  Indians  and 
35 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

'bad  men'  go  around  shooting  up  people  every 
day.  Of  course,  there  is  a  little  of  that  sort  of 
thing,  even  now;  but  I  believe  there  are  more 
people  murdered  in  New  York  City  every  year 
than  in  all  the  states  west  of  the  Mississippi  put 
together.  I  may  be  wrong,  but  I  think  not." 

Whitey  looked  much  disappointed,  and  his 
father  laughed  as  he  saw  his  rueful  face. 
"You'll  see  plenty  of  adventure — don't  worry 
about  that !  But  you'll  find  people  a  good  deal 
the  same  as  they  are  here." 

"Don't  the  Indians  put  on  war-paint  and 
feathers  and  have  a  war-dance  and  scalp  the 
pale-faces — and  things  like  that?"  asked 
Whitey,  reluctant  to  give  up  all  his  cherished 
traditions. 

"Well,  not  exactly,"  said  Mr.  Sherwood, 
smiling.  "The  sheriff  won't  let  'em.  He  just 
locks  'em  up  until  they  get  sober,  and  then  puts 
'em  to  work  on  the  rock-pile." 

This  seemed  to  take  a  good  deal  of  enchant- 
ment out  of  things,  and  Mr.  Sherwood  added, 
"I  am  speaking,  of  course,  of  where  we  are 
going.  There  are  many  places  where  the  In- 

36 


PREPARATIONS 


dians  have  to  be  watched  and  reckoned  with; 
but  you  won't  be  very  likely  to  get  into  those 
places." 

Out  on  the  front  steps,  later  in  tHe  evening, 
Whitey  and  the  boys  held  a  consultation,  and 
the  sad  news  about  the  gun  and  the  revolver 
was  received  with  much  apprehension  and 
shaking  of  heads. 

"Gee!"  said  Tom,  "I'd  certainly  hate  to  be 
out  West  among  those  bears  an'  panthers  an' 
cowboys  an'  Indians  without  a  gun !" 

"We'll  simply  haf  to  get  Whitey  one — some- 
how!" said  George  who  was  much  concerned. 
"  'T  ain't  safe  for  a  man  out  there  'thout  he's 
heeled!  Mebbe,"  he  continued,  after  some 
thought,  "if  Whitey  ain't  goin'  till  next  week 
we  can  manage  it — somehow!" 

Bobby,  the  youngest  boy  of  the  lot,  was 
as  much  alarmed  about  Whitey 's  safety  as  any- 
body, but  he  said  nothing.  However,  he  gave 
the  matter  deep  and  even  prayerful  thought. 
On  his  knees,  that  night,  he  concluded  his 
prayers — "And,  Lord,  please  don't  let  Whitey 
37 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

go  out  West  without  a  revolver!  You  know 
it  ain't  safe!  Amen!" 

And  that  was  why  Bobby's  father  never 
could  find  that  little,  pearl-handled  pistol  that 
he  kept  in  the  automobile ! 

Many  of  the  boys  in  the  neighborhood) 
dropped  in,  and  by  bedtime  Whitey  was  the 
most  envied  as  well  as  the  most  popular  boy 
on  the  block.  He  had  promised  a  bear  or  a 
panther-skin  to  every  one  of  his  pals,  allow- 
ing each  of  them  to  make  his  own  selection — 
some  preferred  bear,  some  panther,  with  a 
slight  demand  for  buffalo.  It  was  all  the  same 
to  Whitey. 

There  were  requests  for  souvenir  Indian 
scalps,  but  Whitey  was  doubtful  about  supply- 
ing them.  And  they  in  return,  had  given  him 
much  sage  advice  as  to  how  he  should  conduct 
himself  when  he  cajne  in  contact  with  the 
desperate  characters,  both  man  and  beast,  that 
he  must  inevitably  encounter  in  the  wilds  of 
Montana.  It  was  unanimously  agreed  that  a 
compass  was  necessary. 

"This  goin'  around  Butte  without  a  compass, 

38 


PREPARATIONS 


is  takin'  a  chance,"  said  Tom,  with  a  warning 
shake  of  his  head.  "  'Most  as  bad  as  bein' 
without  a  gun !  If  a  man  ain't  got  a  compass/' 
warned  Tom,  for  the  sixth  time,  "an*  he  gets 
lost,  he  goes  'round  and  'round  in  a  circle  and 
doesn't  get  anywhere!" 

It  was  agreed  that  this  would  be  very  bad 
in  Butte! 


39 


CHAPTER  III 

OFF  FOR  THE  GOLDEN  WEST 

As  the  eventful  day  approached  when  Whitey 
and  his  father  were  to  start,  it  seemed  to 
Whitey  as  though  Old  Father  Time  had  lost 
his  habit  of  flying,  and  had  subsided  into  a 
very  slow  walk.  Whitey's  entire  equipment 
was  purchased  at  Mr.  Robertson's  store  where 
he  and  the  boys  had  made  their  selection  at 
first,  and  Tom  and  George  and  Bobby  had  been 
allowed  to  come  along  and  assist  in  the  buying 
and  selection. 

And,  too,  Mr.  Sherwood  made  certain  con- 
cessions. The  apprehension  of  the  boys  was 
so  great  at  the  thought  of  Whitey  being  in  the 
wilds  of  Montana  without  a  gun,  that,  after 
some  hesitation,  Whitey's  father  allowed  a 
Winchester  .22  calibre  rifle,  with  a  safety-lock, 
40 


OFF  FOR  THE  GOLDEN  WEST 

to  be  added  to  the  equipment.  It  was  expressly 
agreed,  however,  that  the  rifle  must  not  be 
loaded  until  the  boy  had  arrived  at  the  ranch 
in  Montana. 

Mr.  Sherwood  put  Whitey  through  a  sort  of 
drill,  instructing  him  in  the  mechanical  work- 
ings of  the  gun,  and  how  to  handle  it  under  all 
circumstances — walking,  running,  climbing  a 
fence  or  a  hill  or  a  tree,  or  on  horse-back; 
and  explaining  that  a  different  method  must  be 
used  when  a  companion  is  with  you  than  if 
you  are  alone.  Whitey  was  made  to  under- 
stand that  when  not  in  use,  the  muzzle  of  a  gun 
must  point  either  straight  up  into  the  air  or 
straight  down  at  the  ground,  and  never  in  the 
direction  of  any  other  person  nor  in  the  direc- 
tion of  himself.  "And,"  said  Mr.  Sherwood, 
"if  you  ever  aim  the  gun  at  any  one,  I  will  take 
it  away  from  you  and  never  let  you  have  it 
again." 

"But,"  said  Whitey,  "if  the  gun  isn't  loaded, 
what  harm  can  it  do  ?" 

"That  is  exactly  the  trouble,"  said  his  father, 
impressively.  "It  is  the  guns  that  'are  not 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

loaded'  that  kill  somebody!  Careless  boys — 
and  men,  too — often  think  the  gun  isn't  loaded, 
when  it  is,  and  that  is  the  time  when  the  dam- 
age is  done!  So,  the  only  rule  is,  don't  ever 
point  a  gun  at  any  one  whether  it  is  unloaded 
or  not !" 

Whitey  readily  agreed  to  all  these  condi- 
tions, for  he  could  see  the  wisdom  of  them. 
The  corduroy  suits  were  purchased  and  the 
wide-brimmed  hat  as  well  as  two  pairs  of 
heavy  shoes  and  a  pair  of  water-proof  boots 
that  came  high  up  on  Whitey's  legs  above  the 
knee.  The  compass — a  small  pocket  one — was 
added  to  allay  Tom's  fear  that  Whitey  might 
get  lost  in  the  wilderness  of  Butte !  Then  Mr. 
Sherwood  added  two  things  which  the  boys  had 
not  thought  of — a  big  strong  jack-knife  and 
a  camera. 

"You  boys  will  find  that  hunting  with  a 
camera  is  just  about  as  much  fun  as  hunting 
with  a  gun,"  said  Mr.  Sherwood.  It  isn't 
necessary  to  kill  every  animal  you  run  across. 
It  is  just  as  interesting  and  far  less  cruel  to 
take  his  picture,  and  the  animal  likes  it  a  great 
42 


OFF  FOR  THE  GOLDEN  WEST 

deal  better — and  you've  got  something-  to  show 
afterward.  And  as  for  the  jack-knife,  you'll 
find  that  to  be  one  of  the  most  useful  things 
you  can  have  when  you  are  in  the  wilds." 

"Yes,"  said  the  excited  Bobby,  "an'  if 
Whitey  kills  an  Indian,  he  can  take  his  pic- 
ture first,  with  the  camera,  and  scalp  him  after- 
wards with  the  knife!" 

"You  don't  ever  scalp  an  Indian — nobody 
does !"  said  Tom,  reprovingly. 

"Father  says  it  ain't  open  season  for  In- 
dians now — the  sheriff  won't  let  any  one  kill 
'em,"  said  Whitey,  a  little  disgustedly.  "They 
put  'em  to  work  on  the  rock-pile  if  they  get 
gay,  like  they  used  to.  Besides,"  he  added,  with 
an  air  of  superior  wisdom,  "the  Indians  are 
kind  o'  dyin'  out,  anyway — just  like  buffaloes 
— and  the  ones  that  don't  die  go  to  Carlisle 
College,  or  some  place." 

"Gee!"  said  George,  "I  saw  the  Carlisle 

football  team  play  over  at  the  Polo  Grounds 

last  fall!     They  didn't  look  as  though  they 

were  'dyin'  out!'    They  'put  it  all  over'  some 

43 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

Eastern  college !  I  wouldn't  advise  Whitey  to 
try  to  scalp  one  of  those  fellows!" 

•"Of  course  not!"  said  Whitey.  -"They're 
educated  and  civilized — just  like  other  folks. 
The  kind  you  kill — in  all  the  books — are  the 
ones  that  get  drunk  on  fire-water  and  put  paint 
and  feathers  on  'emselves  and  go  'round  mur- 
dering the  white  settlers  and  burning  folks  at 
the  stake.  The  Carlisle  boys  don't  do  any  of 
those  things !" 

"Well,"  said  Bobby,  dubiously,  reluctant  to 
give  up  cherished  traditions,  "I  dunno.  You! 
can't  tell — they  might !" 

Mr.  Sherwood  ended  the  discussion  by  say- 
ing that  they  better  get  home  and  finish  pack- 
ing; and  the  boys  were  much  put  out  when 
Mr.  Sherwood  had  the  big  package  sent  to 
his  house.  It  would  have  looked  so  much  more 
like  business  if  they  could  have  carried  the 
gun  through  the  streets ! 

It  seemed  to  Whitey  that  the  next  morning 
would  never  come,  but  it  did,  finally,  and  there 
was  a  large  delegation  at  the  Pennsylvania  Sta- 
tion to  say  good-by.  While  the  farewells  were 
44 


OFF  FOR  THE  GOLDEN  WEST 

being  said,  Bobby  took  Whitey  a  little  aside 
and  with  much  secrecy  slipped  the  little  pearl- 
handled  .22  revolver  into  his  hand  and  Whitey 
hastily  transferred  it  to  his  hip-pocket. 

"I  got  it  out  of  our  car !"  Bobby  whispered. 
"Mother  was  always  afraid  of  it  an'  tried  to 
make  Daddy  get  rid  of  it — so  I  just  took  it! 
You  oughta  have  it  on  the  train — you  know, 
for  train-robbers,  or  somethin'!  Jack  Hark- 
away  says  'a  man  oughta  go  heeled !'  Mebbe," 
he  added,  a  little  apprehensively,  "it  M  be  jes' 
as  well  not  to  say  anythin'  about  it — till  you 
get  out  there." 

"Is  she  loaded?"  asked  Whitey,  in  an  awed 
whisper. 

"Sure!"  said  Bobby. 

"I  guess,  mebbe,  I  better  unload  her,"  said 
Whitey,  and  he  did. 

Whitey  thanked  his  loyal  little  pal,  and 
agreed  that  the  matter  should  be  kept  entirely 
secret.  And  it  must  be  confessed  that  Whitey 
felt  very  much  safer — now  that  he  was 
"heeled,"  though  it  made  sitting  down  awkward 
and  slightly  uncomfortable. 
45 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

Finally— it  seemed  an  hour — the  train  pulled 
out,  and,  after  kissing  his  mother  and  sisters 
many  times,  and  amid  a  hurrah  from  the  boys 
and  a  great  waving  of  hands  by  everybody, 
Whitey  was  on  his  way  into  the  Boundless 
West. 


CHAPTER  IV 

ON  THE  WAY 

THE  train  carrying  Whitey  and  his  father 
sped  across  the  continent  at  an  average  speed 
of  perhaps  fifty  miles  an  hour,  but  it  seemed 
to  Whitey  that  it  crawled  along  at  a  snail's 
pace  after  it  had  crossed  the  Mississippi.  The 
first  day,  and  most  of  the  second,  were  novel- 
ties ;  new  scenes  presented  themselves  continu- 
ally and  Whitey  kept  his  face  glued  to  the  win- 
dow. But  after  that  the  monotony  of  the  thing 
became  tiresome  even  to  so  wide-awake  a  boy 
as  Whitey. 

Of  course,  as  they  came  into  the  great 

prairies   and   away   from   "civilization,"   the 

chance  of  encountering  train-robbers  lent  an 

added  zest  to  things ;  but  as  time  went  on  and 

47 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

no  train  robbers  appeared,  Whitey  gradually 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  train-robbing 
business  was  not  all  it  had  been  cracked  up  to 
be,  and  that  maybe  the  Daltons  and  the  James 
Boys  and  the  rest  of  the  bandits  had  retired. 
Which,  perhaps,  was  fortunate  for  them,  as 
it  will  be  remembered  that  Whitey  had  the 
pearl-handled  .22  in  his  hip-pocket!  He  should 
worry  about  train-robbers ! 

Whitey  was  completely  staggered  at  the  size 
of  his  own  country.  He  had  no  idea  it  was  so 
large ;  distances,  on  the  map,  had  seemed  insig- 
nificant, but  when  traveled,  became  prodi- 
gious. And  long  before  he  got  to  his  destination 
Whitey  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  this 
is  the  greatest  country  on  earth — as  indeed  it 
is! 

Mr.  Sherwood  told  him  the  story  of  the 
foreigner  who  started  from  New  York  for  San 
Francisco.  \Vhen  the  train  got  to  Chicago,  the 
foreigner  asked  of  the  porter,  "Aren't  we  there 
yet?" 

"Nossah,"  said  the  porter,  "not  yet!" 

Every  morning,  for  three  mornings,  he  asked 


ON  THE  WAY 


the  same  question,  and  received  the  same  an- 
swer. 

When  they  finally  got  to  San  Francisco, 
after  about  five  days,  the  foreigner  said,  "They 
make  an  awful  fuss  about  Columbus  having 
discovered  America — I  don't  see  how  he  could 
have  missed  it!" 

In  order  to  get  to  the  ranch,  it  had  been 
necessary  to  leave  the  main  line  at  a  junction, 
and  take  a  branch  road  up  into  the  northern 
part  of  Montana.  Traveling  in  this  train  was 
slightly  different  from  what  they  had  enjoyed 
in  the  luxurious  Pullman,  but  Whitey  felt  that 
they  were  now  near  their  journey's  end,  and  he 
didn't  mind  the  inconvenience  of  the  combina- 
tion baggage  and  passenger  coach  which  was 
the  only  one  on  the  "train." 

Whitey  and  his  father  alighted  on  a  small 
platform,  in  the  early  hours  of  the  morning, 
and  the  prospect  seemed  dismal  enough.  There 
were  only  a  few  people  in  sight,  and  it  was  cold 
and  raw.  Even  in  summer,  at  a  high  altitude, 
such  as  in  the  foot-hills  of  the  Rockies,  the 
early  morning  is  cold. 
49 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

As  they  looked  about  them,  a  tall,  and  very 
sunbrowned  man  approached  and  said,  "I 
reckon  you  must  be  Mr.  Sherwood?"  and  on 
being  assured  that  such  was  the  case,  the  tall 
man  introduced  himself:  "I'm  Bill  Jordan, 
the  foreman  of  the  Granville  ranch.  Your  tele- 
gram was  a  mite  delayed,  but  I  managed  to  get 
here  with  a  wagon  to  meet  the  train.  You  an' 
this  youngster  has  a  pretty  long  drive  ahead, 
an'  I'd  suggest  yo'  all  better  get  a  hot  cup  o' 
coffee  an'  some  eggs  over  to  the  shack  'cross 
the  road  before  yo'  all  starts."  This  was  most 
agreeable  to  both  Whitey  and  his  father,  and 
they  proceeded  to  the  shack  for  breakfast. 

It  must  be  acknowledged  that  what  they 
called  "breakfast,"  was  not  much  like  what 
Whitey  used  to  get  at  home.  The  room  was 
low  and  dingy,  and  the  dishes  were  thick  and 
cracked,  and  a  big  man  v/ho  acted  as  waiter, 
seemed  to  "deal"  the  plates  from  his  arm.  But 
"hunger  is  the  best  sauce,"  and  Whitey  man- 
aged to  consume  everything  that  was  set  be- 
fore him,  while  his  father  and  Jordan  talked 
about  the  ranch. 

50 


ON  THE  WAY 


Whitey  liked  the  big  man  the  moment  he  saw 
him.  He  had  a  firm  and  rather  cold  face,  but 
a  very  kindly  one  when  he  smiled.  His  manner 
toward  every  one  was  reserved.  It  was  evident 
that  the  other  men  all  deferred  to  him.  He  did 
as  little  talking  as  possible,  and  his  eyes  seemed 
to  be  taking  in  everything.  He  always  thought 
for  some  time  before  he  expressed  an  opinion; 
but  when  he  did  venture  one,  it  carried  convic- 
tion with  it.  And  what  meant  more  than  any- 
thing else  to  Whitey,  was  the  fact  that  he  took 
a  good  deal  of  notice  of  him,  asking  him  one  or 
two  questions  about  New  York,  and  telling 
Whitey  that  there  were  lots  of  horses  on  the 
ranch  for  him  to  ride. 

When  they  came  out  of  the  shack,  Whitey  got 
his  first  look  at  an  Indian,  except  those  that  he 
had  seen  in  the  Wild  West  shows.  His 
shoulders  were  covered  with  a  very  dirty 
blanket,  his  trousers  were  much  too  long  and 
were  crumpled  about  his  ankles  and  under  his 
bare  feet  at  the  heels.  Altogether,  he  was  not 
an  impressive  figure.  He  stood  near  the  wagon 
while  their  baggage  was  being  loaded  into  it, 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

and  watching  his  opportunity,  approached  Mr. 
Sherwood.  But  whatever  the  Indian  intend- 
ed to  do  was  nipped  in  the  bud,  for  Bill  Jordan 
came  back  a  little  unexpectedly.  "Beat  it !"  said 
Jordan,  and  the  Indian  ducked  away  hastily, 
just  in  time  to  escape  most  of  the  kick  that 
Jordan  aimed  at  him. 

This  was  most  astonishing  to  Whitey. 
The  Indian  did  not  conduct  himself  in  the  way 
that  might  be  expected  from  the  books  that 
Whitey  had  read,  and  as  "the  proud  Red  Man 
of  lofty  mien  and  bearing,"  this  Indian  was 
a  most  dismal  failure.  According  to  all  the 
authorities,  he  should  have  said  to  Jordan, 
drawing  himself  to  his  full  height,  "Dog  of  a 
Paleface,  an  insult  to  Rain-in- the-Neck  can  be 
wiped  out  only  in  blood!  Let  the  White  Man 
tremble  before  the  vengeance  of  the  Chief  of 
TheWallawalloos!" 

But  nothing  like  that  happened,  at  all.    No 

full  height;  no  dignity  of   folded  arms  aod 

proud  and  awful  threat  of  terrible  vengeance: 

The  Indian  just  "beat  it!"    And  half  way 

52 


ON  THE  WAY 


across  the  platform,  he  stopped  and  scratched 
himself.  It  was  all  wrong!  All  wrong! 

In  a  few  moments,  everything  was  in  readi- 
ness and  they  entered  the  wagon,  Jordan  tak- 
ing Whitey  on  the  seat  with  him.  They  sped 
over  the  ground  at  a  fast  and  steady  gait  that 
put  the  miles  behind  surprisingly.  And  Whitey 
had  many  questions  to  ask  about  the  various 
interesting  things  they  saw,  which  Jordan  an- 
swered cheerfully. 

Whitey  could  not  get  the  Indian  out  of  his 
mind.  "Are  all  the  Indians  out  here  like  that 
one?"  he  asked,  after  a  while. 

"Well,  no,"  said  Jordan,  "not  all  of  'em. 
That  feller  evidently  don't  b'long  up  here ;  he's 
prob'ly  from  the  Southwest  an'  ain't  nuthin' 
but  a  sort  of  a  hobo.  He's  jest  a  sample  of  the 
kind  that  hangs  'round  towns.  An  Indian 
h'aint  no  business  in  a  town — he  belongs  in  the 
open.  He  h'aint  no  more  business  bein'  in  a 
town  ner  an  eagle  has  bein'  in  a  cage — both  on 
'em  is  plumb  ruint  by  it.  Now,  the's  some  In- 
dians up  North  fu'ther,"  Jordan  went  on,  after 
a  pause,  "that's  quite  consider'ble  men — 

53 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

'twouldn't  be  safe  exac'ly,  to  kick  none  of  'em, 
'less  you  wanted  a  fight.  But  they  keeps  to 
theirselves — 'way  from  town."  Whitey's  fal- 
len hopes  in  the  noble  Red  Man  revived  a  little 
at  this. 

"Do  those  fellows  give  you  any  trouble 
now  ?"  asked  Mr.  Sherwood.  "I  mean  the  In- 
dians that  gave  Mr.  Granville  so  much  trouble 
some  years  ago." 

"Not  lately,"  said  Jordan,  and  his  grim  face 
set  hard.  "We  give  'em  quite  consider'ble  of 
a  lesson,  one  time.  They  was  a  bunch  o'  Dako- 
tas  wanderin'  'round,  an'  they  sure  played  hob 
with  the  cattle,  fer  a  spell.  The'  was  some 
Greasers  among  'em,  too;  but  we  give  a  few 
neck-tie  parties  an'  they  kind  o'  got  discour- 
aged." 

"What  is  a  neck-tie  party,  Mr.  Jordan?" 
asked  Whitey. 

"Well,"  said  Jordan,  smiling,  "the  way  o' 
playin'  the  game  is  like  this :  you  take  a  man — 
gener'ly  a  Greaser — an'  tie  his  hands  behind 
him  an'  set  him  onto  a  horse.  Then  you  make 
a  slip-knot  in  a  rope,  or  a  lariat,  an'  you  put  it 
54 


ON  THE  WAY 


'round  the  Greaser's  neck  an'  throw  the  other 
end  over  the  limb  of  a  tree,  an'  two  or  three 
o'  the  boys  takes  a  holt  of  it.  Then,  if  some- 
body happens  to  hit  the  horse  a  slap — well, 
most  gener'ly  the  neck-tie  fits  sort  o'  snug !" 

"Why,  that's  hanging  a  man!"  exclaimed 
Whitey,  all  excitement. 

"Some  calls  it  that,"  said  Jordan,  dryly.  "I 
guess  it  'mounts  to  'bout  the  same  thing — fer 
the  man!  But,  y'  see,  this  way,  it's  gener'ly 
a  kind  of  a  accident — somebody  jes'  happens  to 
slap  the  horse,  or  mebbe  the  horse  is  res'less  an' 
moves  hisself.  Then  th'  ain't  nobody  to  blame !" 

"Gee!"  said  Whitey,  "I'd  like  to  see  one  of 
those  parties !" 

"Well,  I  dunno,"  said  Jordan,  soberly,  "they 
ain't  altogether  such  all-fired  pleasant  an'  so- 
ciable affairs  as  y'  might  think.  I  hope  I've  seen 
the  last  one — in  these  parts."  And  Jordan  didn't 
speak  again  for  some  time. 

Whitey  figured  that,  after  all,  maybe  all  the 
Indians  wouldn't  stay  tame  and  dispirited,  and 
that  maybe  there  would  be  "something  doing," 
before  the  summer  was  over. 
55 


CHAPTER  V 

INJUN 

IT  was  some  twenty-two  miles  out  to  the 
ranch,  but  the  wagon  rolled  over  the  prairie  at 
a  fast  clip,  and  well  inside  of  two  hours  they 
were  inside  the  boundary  of  the  ranch,  and 
saw,  here  and  there,  herds  of  cattle  grazing. 
Jordan  called  their  attention  to  both  the  boun- 
dary and  the  cattle,  and  Whitey  felt  a  sense  of 
elation  when  he  thought  that  all  of  this  be- 
longed to  his  father.  Also,  he  felt  that,  for 
once,  he  had  a  yard  big  enough  for  him  to 
play  in  without  feeling  crowded. 

In  the  distance,  loomed  the  mountains,  and 
Whitey  promised  himself  that  he  would  explore 
them  some  afternoon — they  didn't  look  very 
jfar  off.  But  when  he  spoke  of  it,  Jordan 
laughed  and  said,  "When  you  pick  out  the  day 

56 


INJUN 


you're  goin',  it'll  be  jest  as  well  to  start  kind  o' 
early — them  mountains  is  more  'n  fifty  miles 
away." 

Mr.  Sherwood  explained  to  Whitey  that  the 
apparent  nearness  of  the  mountains  was  on 
account  of  the  clear  and  rarefied  air.  But  to 
tell  the  truth,  Whitey  was  frankly  incredulous ; 
he  had  a  good  pair  of  eyes,  and  if  he  could  be- 
lieve them  at  all,  those  mountains  were  cer- 
tainly not  fifty  miles  away!  He  made  up  his 
mind  that  he  would  test  it,  sometime,  and  he 
did.  He  came  to  the  conclusion  that  instead  of 
being  fifty  miles  away,  the  mountains  were  at 
least  five  times  that  distance ! 

As  the  wagon  neared  the  ranch  house,  they 
came  upon  a  strange  figure  on  a  small,  but 
very  wiry  pinto,  moving  almost  directly  across 
their  trail.  It  was  an  Indian  boy,  apparently 
about  the  same  age  as  Whitey,  and  pictur- 
esquely clad  in  a  "hickory  shirt,"  open  at  the 
neck  and  leaving  a  good  part  of  his  breast 
exposed,  "buck-skin"  trousers,  and  rudely  made 
moccasins.  A  bow  and  a  quiver  containing  a 
number  of  arrows  were  slung  over  his  shoul- 
57 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

der.  The  boy  had  neither  saddle  nor  bridle, 
and  seemed  to  be  a  part  of  his  horse,  guiding 
and  controlling  him  solely  by  the  pressure  of 
his  knees. 

"Here's  a  card !"  said  Jordan,  to  Mr.  Sher- 
wood and  Whitey.  "Just  look  this  bird  over 
for  a  minute.  He's  a  queer  duck!"  Then  rais- 
ing his  voice,  he  shouted,  "Hello,  'Injun !' " 

The  boy  stopped  the  pinto  suddenly,  with- 
out any  perceptible  movement,  and  raised  his 
hand  in  salutation,  and  waited  for  the  wagon  to 
come  up. 

As  they  ranged  alongside  of  him,  Jordan 
pulled  up  the  horses :  "  Injun/  "  said  Jordan, 
"this  here  is  the  new  Boss,"  pointing  to  Mr. 
Sherwood.  "An'  this  here  is  his  boy,"  and 
Jordan  indicated  Whitey.  "You  come  over  to 
the  ranch-house  to-morrow ;  I Ve  got  somethin' 
fer  you  to  do." 

The  boy  looked  calmly  at  them,  but  gave  no 
sign  that  he  understood.  His  face  was  most 
intelligent  and  not  at  all  unpleasant,  though 
as  far  as  any  change  of  expression  is  concerned, 
it  might  have  been  carved  out  of  stone.  His 


INJUN 


eyes,  however,  were  keen  and  restive,  and  he 
looked  from  one  to  another  of  the  party  in  a 
shrewd,  appraising  way.  He  seemed  slight, 
compared  to  Whitey,  even  a  little  scrawny, 
with  very  thin  arms  and  legs;  but  as  keen  an 
observer  of  physical  condition  as  Whitey  had 
become  by  this  time  was  not  to  be  deceived 
thereby.  A  steel  wire  is  thin  and  attenuated, 
but  it  is  very  strong ;  and  to  Whitey's  practiced 
eye  those  arms  and  legs  were  simply  bundles  of 
wire. 

"Well,"  said  Jordan,  after  he  had  allowed  the 
boys  to  size  each  other  up  for  a  time,  "I  guess 
that'll  be  about  all,  'Injun/  So  long!"  and 
Jordan  clucked  to  the  horses. 

The  Indian  boy  raised  his  hand  in  a  peculiar 
sort  of  salute  as  he  turned  his  horse  slightly 
and  galloped  away.  Whitey  watched  him  with 
admiration  on  every  line  of  his  face  as  far  as 
he  could  distinguish  his  movements;  and  Jor- 
dan watched  Whitey,  smiling. 

"Who  is  he?"  asked  Whitey,  at  last,  turning 
to  Jordan,  and  Mr.  Sherwood  also  looked  an 
inquiry. 

59 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

"He's  some  kid!"  laughed  Jordan.  "He 
don't  belong  to  nobody,  an'  he  don't  live  no- 
where! Wherever  he  builds  his  camp-fire  is 
home!  He's  took  care  of  hisself  ever  sence  he 
was  big  'miff  to  kick  a  duck  in  the  ankle,  an' 
he  don't  ask  no  odds  o'  nobody!  Him  an* 
that  pinto  is  jes'  one — they're  part  of  each 
other.  That  there  hoss  knows  what  thet  kid 
is  thinkin'  'bout !  You  talk  'bout  yer  Centaurs, 
er  whatever  they  was,  they  didn't  have  nuthin' 
on  that  pair !" 

"Did  he  understand  what  you  said  to  him  ?" 
asked  Whitey.  "He  didn't  seem  to." 

Jordan  laughed:  "Oh,  he  understood,  all 
right!  He'll  be  there  the  first  thing  in  the 
mornin',  with  bells  on!"  Jordan  looked  smil- 
ingly at  Whitey  for  a  moment,  and  then  added, 
"I  kind  o'  figured  him  an'  you'd  sort  o'  team 
up,  mebbe  ?" 

Whitey  was  plainly  pleased,  and  he  looked  at 
his  father  inquiringly.  "If  you  are  asking  my 
permission,  Son,"  said  Mr.  Sherwood,  "I  have 
no  hesitation  in  granting  it.  No  doubt  this 
Indian  boy  will  teach  you  a  lot  of  useful  things ; 
60 


INJUN 


and  perhaps  you  can  teach  him  something,  too." 
Then  turning  to  Jordan,  Mr.  Sherwood  said, 
"I  suppose  the  boy  is  all  right,  isn't  he?  By 
that  I  mean,  he  doesn't  take  too  many  chances 
and  get  into  trouble?" 

"I  guess  he  takes  chances  a-plenty,"  said  Jor- 
dan, slowly,  "but  what  boy  won't — providin' 
he's  a  reg'lar  boy?  Er  a  man  either?  Y' 
can't  keep  a  squirrel  on  the  ground,  as  the  say- 
in'  is.  But  I'll  take  a  ticket  on  that  'Injun' 
to  git  out  'n  any  fix  he  gits  into.  He's  a 
pretty  wise  fish,  that  kid,"  said  Jordan;  and 
then  looking  at  Whitey,  he  added,  "An'  this 
here  youngster  don't  look  like  no  mollycoddle, 
neither.  Long  as  they  don't  set  out  t'  dee- 
vastate  the  grizzly  crop  an'  they  let  painters 
alone,  I  don't  reckon  nuthin'  's  goin'  to  muss 
'em  up  much.  Let  'em  go  to  it!" 

This  seemed  to  settle  it,  much  to  Whitey's  re- 
lief; and  Jordan  did  not  speak  again  until 
they  drove  into  the  ranch  yard. 


61 


CHAPTER  VI 

BILL  JORDAN 

THE  ranch-house  itself  was  a  long,  low  build- 
ing, with  broad  porches  on  two  sides  of  it  built 
on  the  Arizona  style ;  and  nearby  were  several 
other  out-buildings  and  two  or  three  large  cor- 
rals. Some  of  the  ranch-hands  lounged  about 
the  yard,  and  took  charge  of  the  horses  and 
wagon  and  carried  the  luggage  into  the  house. 
The  rooms  were  large  and  airy,  with  many 
windows;  and  the  coolness  was  a  relief  after 
the  long  ride  in  the  blazing  sun. 

After  a  good  dinner,  prepared  by  Sing 
Wong,  the  Chinese  cook,  Jordan  showed  Mr. 
Sherwood  over  the  ranch,  Whitey  following, 
an  interested  listener  and  spectator  of  all  that 
was  said  and  shown.  Whitey  had  lost  no 
time  in  unpacking  the  trunk  that  contained  his 
62 


BILL  JORDAN 


rifle,  and  carried  it  with  him  on  the  tour  of 
the  ranch,  handling  it  in  a  way  that  showed 
that  the  drill  given  him  by  his  father  had  not 
been  wasted. 

Bill  Jordan  examined  the  rifle  and  pro- 
nounced it  a  good  one.  "The  question  is," 
said  Bill,  banteringly,  "kin  you  hit  anythin' 
with  it?  The  gun  's  all  right,  but  how  good 
kin  you  pint  it?"  and  he  handed  the  gun  back 
to  Whitey. 

"Well,"  said  Whitey,  "I  don't  think  I'm  a 
very  good  shot — I've  only  shot  a  rifle  a  few 
times  in  a  shooting-gallery — but  if  you'll  pick 
out  a  mark,  I'll  see  what  I  can  do." 

"All  right,"  said  Bill,  "I'll  do  it."  He  took 
off  his  broad  brimmed  Stetson  and  handled  and 
brushed  it  fondly.  "I  think  a  heap  o'  this  here 
hat,  Son,  but  I'm  goin'  to  resk  you  havin'  one 
chance  at  it,  purvidin'  the  distance  is  reason- 
able." And  Bill  walked  about  twenty  yards 
away  and  hung  the  hat  on  a  post  and  rejoined 
them.  Whitey  prepared  to  aim,  and  Mr.  Sher- 
wood was  about  to  interfere,  but  at  a  sign  from 
Bill,  he  refrained. 

63 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

"What'll  you  bet  you  hit  it?"  asked  Jordan, 
banteringly — "the  first  time  you  pull  the  trig- 
ger, I  mean?" 

"I  don't  bet,"  said  Whitey,  "but  I  think  I 
can  hit  it." 

"I  guess  you're  a  pretty  level-headed  kid," 
said  Bill,  "that  bettin'  thing  ain't  much  good 
— I  wisht  I  never'd  made  no  bets,"  he  added, 
reminiscently.  "But  I  don't  think  y'  kin  hit  it 
— not  under  present  circumstances,  I  don't.  I 
don't  think  that  there  Stetson  is  in  no  danger 
whatsumever !" 

Whitey  grinned  and  took  careful  aim  and 
pulled  the  trigger.  There  was  only  the  snap 
of  the  hammer  and  no  report.  Whitey  looked 
at  the  rifle  and  then  at  the  grinning  Bill. 

"What  did  I  tell  you!"  said  the  latter,  ex- 
ultantly. 

Whitey  examined  the  rifle  and  then  an- 
nounced, disgustedly,  "There  wasn't  any  car- 
tridge in  it !" 

"Jesso,"  said  Bill,  opening  his  big  hand  and 
showing  Whitey  the  cartridge  that  he  had  re- 
moved from  the  gun  when  he  had  taken  it  into 


BILL  JORDAN 


his  hands  for  the  ostensible  purpose  of  exam- 
ining it.  "Jesso,"  he  repeated.  "I  played  it 
sort  o'  low-down  on  yo'  so  's  to  show  yo' 
somethin'.  There  was  jest  two  reasons  why 
you  wasn't  goin'  to  let  fly  no  bullet  at  that 
hat — mebbe  three." 

"What  were  they?"  asked  Whitey. 

"Well,"  said  Bill,  "unless  you're  in  a  big 
hurry,  always  examine  your  gun  'fore  yo'  shoot, 
to  see  that  everythin'  is  O.  K.  An'  another  an' 
more  important  thing  is,  always  look  where 
you're  shootin'.  If  yo'll  jest  cast  yer  eye  over 
and  beyond  that  hat,  you'll  see  there's  two 
cow-punchers  a-leanin'  agin  that  corral — not 
right  in  line — but  in  that  direction.  I  admit 
that  a  cow-puncher  ain't  worth  much,"  said 
Bill,  grinning  at  one  or  two  of  the  boys  who 
stood  near  watching  the  performance,  "but  't 
ain't  a  good  thing  to  shoot  'em  up — 'specially 
with  no  twenty-two's!  The  third  reason  is 
that's  a  mighty  good  hat — I  paid  eighteen  bucks 
fer  her!" 

Whitey  readily  admitted  the  first  two  propo- 
sitions, and  said  he  would  be  careful  anything 

65 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

like  that  did  not  occur  again;  but  when  Bill 
started  to  get  his  hat,  Whitey  said,  "Just:  a 
moment,  Mr.  Jordan,"  and  Bill  stopped  and 
looked  at  Whitey  inquiringly. 

"You  offered  to  make  me  a  bet,  didn't  you  ?" 
Whitey  asked. 

"Yes,  I  guess  I  did,"  said  Bill,  scratching  his 
head.  "What  about  it  ?" 

"Well,"  said  Whitey,  "I  always  heard  that 
if  a  fellow  didn't  have  a  chance  to  win,  then 
he  didn't  have  a  chance  to  lose.  That's  so, 
isn't  it?" 

"Well,  yes,"  admitted  Bill,  "I  guess  that's 
right  'nuff." 

"Then,"  said  Whitey,  resolutely  and  with 
conviction,  "I  think  I'm  entitled  to  a  real 
chance  at  that  hat !" 

This  was  a  bomb-shell  in  Bill  Jordan's 
camp.  The  cow-punchers  who  had  gathered 
around  heartily  endorsed  Whitey's  argument. 
"The  Kid's  right !  Come  on,  Bill !  Be  game ! 
Give  him  a  chance !"  came  from  all  sides,  cou- 
pled with  loud  laughter  and  slaps  on  Bill's 
broad  back. 

66 


BILL  JORDAN 


Bill  scratched  his  head  and  grinned  in  great 
apparent  apprehension.  "Looks  like  the  ma- 
jority was  agin  me,"  he  said,  finally,  looking 
ruefully  at  the  Stetson  and  calling  to  the  cow- 
punchers  at  the  corral  to  get  out  of  the  way. 
"An'  that  is  a  good  hat,  too !  All  right !  Fire 
away!  I  throws  myself  on  the  mercy  o'  the 
co't!  But  say,  Son,  have  a  heart!  You're 
shootin'  at  eighteen  dollars  wo'th  o'  hat !" 

Whitey  took  careful  aim  and  fired,  and  the 
hat  flew  up  into  the  air  and  fell  in  the  dust. 
A  loud  yell  went  up  from  the  boys  as  several 
of  them  ran  and  picked  it  up  and  brought  it  to 
Bill,  who  examined  the  hole  in  it  ruefully. 
"She's  ventilated  now,  all  right,"  he  said,  "an' 
I  reckon  it'll  be  some  lengths  o'  periods  'fore  I 
tries  to  put  anythin'  over  on  this  here  kid  again ! 
If  I  ever  do  so  far  fergit  myself,  I  got  this  here 
ventilator  in  my  skypiece  to  remind  me!" 

It  was  plain,  however,  that  Bill  was  tickled 
at  the  way  Whitey  had  handled  the  situation, 
and  "making  a  hit"  with  Bill  Jordan  meant 
something  on  the  Granville  ranch. 

67 


CHAPTER  VII 

WESTERN  AIR  AND  APPETITE 

THE  following  morning,  Whitey  was  up  al- 
most with  the  sun,  but  he  found  the  ranch 
already  astir.  Mr.  Sherwood  was  busy  over 
the  ranch  accounts  when  Whitey  went  in  to 
breakfast.  It  needed  very  little  persuasion  on 
the  part  of  the  shuffling,  grinning  Sing  Wong 
,to  induce  him  to  put  away  a  bigger  breakfast 
than  he  had  ever  had  before  in  his  life.  Twenty- 
four  hours  in  that  mountain  air  would  give  an 
appetite  to  a  mummy,  and  Whitey  was  far  from 
being  a  mummy.  Bill  Jordan  watched  him 
stow  away  plate  after  plate  of  flap- jacks  and 
honey  in  addition  to  bacon  and  eggs  and  milk, 
and  finally  said  with  an  anxious  shake  of  his 
head,  that  the  ranch  would  have  to  do  a  bigger 
business  than  ever  if  Whitey  intended  to  make 
a  long  visit 

68 


WESTERN  AIR  AND  APPETITE 

"Mr.  Jordan,"  said  Whitey,  pausing  to  get 
his  breath,  and  accepting  with  some  hesitation 
"just  one  more  plate"  of  flap-jacks,  "I  don't 
believe  I'll  ever  want  to  go  back !" 

Bill  threw  up  his  hands  in  a  gesture  of 
despair,  and  "allowed  as  how,  if  that  was  the 
case,  he'd  haf  to  raise  Sing  Wong's  wages, 
or  else  see  about  getting  him  an  assistant !" 

Whitey  laughed  and  assured  Bill  that  he 
hadn't  been  very  hungry  that  morning,  but 
when  he  got  down  to  business,  he'd  show  him 
how  a  really  hungry  boy  could  eat. 

"It's  a  pity  you  wasn't  here  'bout  a  year  or 
so  ago,"  said  Bill.  "We  could  o'  made  a  clean- 
up with  you !" 

"How  is  that?"  asked  Whitey. 

"Well,"  said  Bill,  "we  had  a  feller  here  who 
was  some  strong  as  a  table-finisher  an'  bone- 
polisher,  an'  we  issued  a  challenge  to  eat  him 
agin  any  man  in  the  West.  He  et  like  nine 
starvin'  Cubans,  an'  then  some !  It  looked  like 
he  could  spot  most  anybody  three  er  four  good- 
sized  steaks  an'  then  win  pulled-up.  But  the' 
was  a  'hayseed'  blowed  in  one  day  an'  offered 

69 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

to  eat  him  fer  consider'ble  change.  They  set 
down  to  make  the  terms  and  specifications  o' 
the  eatin'  contest,  an'  our  man  says,  'What'll 
we  begin  with?'  An'  the  other  feller  says, 
'Well,  suppose  we  start  on  hams?'  'All  right,' 
says  our  champion,  'how  many  slices  ?'  'Slices !' 
says  the  other  guy,  contemptuous  like,  'slices! 
I  didn't  say  nuthin'  'bout  slices!  I  said 
hams !' 

"Well,  sir,  that  settled  it!  Our  man  give 
this  feller  one  look  an'  crawfished  right  there ! 
He  snuk  out  an'  got  on  his  pinto,  an'  we  ain't 
never  saw  him  sence.  Now,  if  yo  'd  a  bin 

here "  and  Bill  shrugged  his  shoulders  and 

made  a  deprecatory  gesture  that  indicated  that 
a  real  eater,  like  Whitey,  never  would  have 
allowed  "hams"  to  faze  him. 

"Mebbe  we  better  issue  another  challenge  ?" 
added  Bill,  tentatively.  -"Yo'  won't  need  much 
trainin' !" 

"I'm  not  very  fond  of  hams,"  said  Whitey, 
"but  if  he'll  start  on  steers  I'll  accommodate 
him!" 

Bill  let  out  a  laugh  that  shook  the  rafters. 
70 


WESTERN  AIR  AND  APPETITE 

"I  guess  you'll  do !"  he  said  as  he  reached  for 
his  hat,  and  regarded  the  hole  in  it  with  a 
grin. 

"Do  you  suppose  'Injun'  will  be  here  to- 
day, Mr.  Jordan?"  asked  Whitey. 

"He's  bin  here  more'n  an  hour,  already!" 
said  Jordan,  "I  seen  him  an'  that  pinto  of  his 
when  I  come  past  the  corral.  I  meant  to  tell 
you  'bout  it,  but  disremembered  to." 

"I  hope  he'll  wait,"  said  Whitey. 

Bill  laughed:  "He'll  wait,  all  right  Pa- 
tience is  an  Injun's  middle  name !  Jime  don't 
mean  nuthin'  to  them." 

Whitey  got  his  rifle  and  started  out  for 
the  corral.  He  found  'Injun*  just  where  Bill 
had  said  he  was,  waiting  patiently,  and  Bill 
Jordan  made  it  a  point  to  be  on  hand  a  few 
moments  afterward.  Both  of  the  boys  were 
diffident,  although  Injun  did  not  display  it. 

Whitey  began  the  conversation :  "Hello,  In- 
jun," he  said,  in  a  pleasant  way.  Injun  raised 
his  hand  in  his  peculiar  way  of  salutation,  but 
made  no  other  acknowledgment  of  the  greeting, 
but  eyed  Whitey's  rifle  interestedly. 
71 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

"Want  to  look  at  it?"  asked  Whitey,  holding 
it  out.  "It's  a  dandy!" 

Injun  took  the  gun  and  examined  it  care- 
fully, and  Whitey  noticed  that  he  did  not  vio- 
late any  of  the  rules  of  handling  it  and  he 
evidently  knew  all  about  the  mechanism.  After 
he  had  looked  it  over  admiringly  and  tried  the 
sights,  he  handed  it  back  to  Whitey  without 
comment,  but  there  was  no  doubt  that  he  would 
have  given  his  right  leg  to  own  it. 

Whitey,  in  turn,  examined  and  admired  In- 
jun's bow  and  arrows,  and  found  that,  al- 
though he  was  undoubtedly  as  strong  as  Injun, 
he  had  considerable  difficulty  in  pulling  the 
bow  back  to  its  fullest  extent. 

There  is  a  certain  knack  in  this  which  comes 
only  from  long  practice;  just  as  there  is  in 
all  branches  of  athletic  sports  or  feats  of  skill ; 
and  experience  is  not  alone  the  best  teacher, 
but  may  be  said  to  be  the  only  teacher.  In 
this  particular  thing,  the  Indian  has  the  added 
incentive  of  necessity — the  ability  to  shoot  an 
arrow  far  and  straight  means  his  very  liveli- 
hood; and  the  loss  of  an  arrow  is  serious — ; 
72 


WESTERN  AIR  AND  APPETITE 

not  only  because  he  loses  the  animal  or  bird, 
but  because  it  takes  a  long  time  to  make  a 
really  good  arrow. 

A  similar  condition  exists  in  many  other 
branches  of  out-door  craft,  and  the  novice  has 
great  difficulty  in  mastering  something  which 
looks  easy.  The  ability  to  ride  a  high-spirited 
horse,  or  to  throw  a  lariat  accurately,  or  to  send 
a  canoe  through  the  water  swiftly  without 
making  a  ripple  or  any  perceptible  noise,  or  to 
run  at  high  speed  over  the  snow  and  through 
the  thick  woods  on  snowshoes  without  coming 
to  grief,  cannot  be  learned  in  a  day  or  a  month. 
In  fact,  some  people  can  never  learn  to  do  these 
things  properly.  If  a  boy  or  man  hasn't  a  good 
eye  and  steady  nerves,  he  can  never  arrive  at 
any  extraordinary  proficiency. 

It  is  impossible  for  two  red-blooded  boys  to 
be  together  any  length  of  time  without  engag- 
ing in  some  kind  of  a  contest;  and  the  exami- 
nations of  the  rifle  and  the  bow  and  arrows 
made  a  very  good  basis  for  it,  and  Jordan 
acted  the  part  of  promoter. 

"Let's  see  who  is  the  best  shot,"  he  suggested. 
73 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

"Whitey — (Jordan  had  by  this  time  learned 
what  he  termed  Alan's  "handle"  or  "monick- 
er"), you  use  the  gun  an'  let  Injun  use  the 
bow  and  arrows  and  shoot  at  a  mark — say  'bout 
twenty  paces  off.  What  d'  y'  say  ?" 

"Sure,"  said  Whitey,  agreeing  readily. 
"We'll  shoot  at  your  hat!" 

"Not  by  no  means,  y'  won't!"  said  Jordan, 
grinning.  "I  got  some  respect  fer  that  old 
hat  yet !  'T  was  a  new  one,  yestiddy — till  yo' 
made  an  old  one  out'n  it !"  he  added,  reproach- 
fully. 

Jordan  took  a  pine  board,  marked  a  circle 
and  bull's  eye  on  it,  and  fixed  it  against  a  post 
of  the  corral  about  twenty  paces  away.  He 
elected  that  WThitey  shoot  first,  and  the  latter 
took  careful  aim  and  fired.  The  splinters  flew 
from  the  board,  but  it  was  found  to  have  only 
chipped  the  edge,  and  was  not  within  the 
circle;  but  it  was  not  such  a  bad  shot,  as  the 
board  was  hardly  more  than  a  foot  wide. 

Injun  fitted  an  arrow  to  the  bow  and  drew 
the  string  back  to  his  ear.  The  arrow  went 
straight  to  the  mark  and  sunk  itself  in  the  pine 
74 


WESTERN  AIR  AND  APPETITE 

board  in  the  bull's  eye.  Injun  had  not  used 
one  of  his  sharp-pointed  hunting  arrows,  or 
it  would  probably  have  gone  clear  through  the 
board.  Whitey  was  most  enthusiastic  in  his 
admiration  for  such  skill  as  this,  and,  too,  it 
stirred  in  him  a  determination  to  emulate  it. 
But  try  as  he  would,  he  could  not  send  the 
bullets  from  his  rifle  with  anything  near  the 
accuracy  that  Injun  shot  his  arrows. 

Whitey  tried  the  bow  and  arrows  several 
times,  but  succeeded  in  hitting  the  board  only 
once,  and  with  nothing  ffke  the  force  that 
Injun  had  communicated  to  the  shaft.  He 
urged  Injun  to  try  the  rifle — he  didn't  have  to 
urge  very  hard,  as  the  latter  was  dying  to 
try  it.  And  while  he  obtained  somewhat  bet- 
ter results  from  it  than  Whitey  got  from  the 
bow,  he  proved  that  as  far  as  getting  his  din- 
ner in  the  woods  or  mountains  is  concerned, 
he  might  better  stick  to  his  bow.  However, 
there  was  no  doubt  that  the  first  competition 
between  the  boys  had  resulted  in  Injun's  favor. 

As  Injun  handed  the  rifle  back  to  Whitey,  he 
looked  at  Jordan,  and  for  the  first  time  spoke. 
75 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

"Him  shoot!"  he  said. 

"Who— me?"  said  Jordan,  "I  guess  I'm  a 
leetle  mite  out  o'  practice.  Tell  yo'  what  I'll 
do,  though,  Whitey — yo'  done  put  my  lid  on 
the  bum,  an'  I'll  shoot  if  you'll  let  me  have  a 
crack  at  that  new  hat  o'  your'n!  Come  on 
now,  are  yo'  game?"  said  Jordan,  taking  his 
big  Colt  forty-five  from  his  holster. 

"Turn  about  is  fair  play,"  said  Whitey,  "so 
here  goes!"  and  he  fastened  his  hat  on  the 
board,  making  a  fair  mark. 

Jordan  laughed,  and  turning,  he  emptied  his 
revolver  in  the  direction  of  the  hat  in  less  time 
than  it  takes  to  tell  it.  "By  Crackey!"  ex- 
claimed Jordan,  in  a  disappointed  way,  "I  don't 
believe  I  hit  thet  air  old  sky-piece,  after  all! 
I'm  shore  gettin'  outer  practice!" 

The  boys  ran  to  the  hat,  and  found  that  it 
was  untouched.  BUT — Jordan  had  put  a  ring 
of  bullets  all  around  it,  none  of  them  being 
more  than  half  an  inch  from  the  brim! 

"I  guess  you  don't  need  much  practice!" 
gasped  Whitey,  as  he  came  back  with  the  hat. 
"I  wouldn't  have  thought  it  possible  for  any 


WESTERN  AIR  AND  APPETITE 

one  to  shoot  like  that !"  he  added,  in  undis- 
guised admiration. 

"Well,"  said  Jordan,  slowly,  "mebbe  if  I'd 
bin  a  leetle  more  careful  an'  took  more  time,  I 
might  have  hit  it.  I  reckon,  now,  I've  done 
throwed  away  my  chance  to  get  even  with 
yo'!" 

"You'll  never  get  another  chance  at  my 
hat — not  unless  you  let  me  put  it  up  a  mile 
away— and  even  then  I'd  be  afraid  you'd  hit 
it!" 

"I  reckon  the  hat's  some  safe  if  thet's  the 
case,"  said  Bill.  \ 


77 


CHAPTER  VIII 

IWHITEY  LEARNS  TO  RIDE 

"LOOK  here,  Whitey,"  said  Bill  Jordan,  one 
afternoon,  "kin  yo'  ride  a  hoss?  If  yo'  an* 
this  here  Injun  is  goin'  in  cahoots,  yo'  gotta 
ride  some!" 

"I'm  not  what  any  one  would  call  a  good 
rider,"  said  Whitey,  "but  I  guess  I  can  manage 
to  stay  on.  I  used  to  ride  the  horses  down  at 
Coney  Island,  and  once  or  twice  when  we  were 
in  the  country;  but  these  horses  are  different. 
They  don't  wait  till  you  get  your  seat  before 
they  whirl  'round  and  beat  it !" 

"Some  of  'em  is  a  mite  hasty,"  admitted 
Bill,  "but  we  got  one  or  two  nice,  ol'  hobby- 
hosses  in  the  corral  thet'll  be  'bout  yo'r  size. 
Buck,"  he  shouted  to  one  of  the  cow-punchers 
nearby,  "go  bring  thet  ol'  sorrel  out'n  the  cor- 
ral— thet  is,  pervidin'  he's  able  to  walk  Yo'll 

78 


WHITEY  LEARNS  TO  RIDE 

probably  find  him  leanin'  up  agin  the  fence  to 
keep  from  fallin'  down.  This  here  Whitey 
person  is  goin'  to  set  on  him  fer  a  spell  an* 
take  a  nap." 

Buck  took  a  halter  and  went  into  the  corral, 
and  soon  returned  leading  the  sorrel,  which 
did  not  seem  to  be  in  any  danger  of  falling 
down  if  he  didn't  have  something  to  lean 
against.  In  fact,  the  sorrel  was  a  pretty  lively 
animal,  and  Whitey  had  his  misgivings;  but 
he  knew  that  Bill  Jordan  would  not  allow  him 
to  mount  a  fractious  or  vicious  horse,  inex- 
perienced as  he  was,  and%e  made  up  his  mind 
that  he  would  "go  through"  with  it.  If  he  were 
to  spend  any  length  of  time  in  the  West,  he 
knew  that  the  sooner  he  learned  to  ride,  the 
better  off  he  would  be,  and  the  more  he  could 
enter  into  the  work  and  play  of  the  ranch — 
and,  indeed,  the  very  life  of  the  West  with 
which  the  horse  is  so  inseparably  associated. 
Then,  too,  he  admired  and  marveled  at  the 
way  Injun  rode  his  pony,  and  the  spirit  of  ri- 
valry within  him  made  him  determine  that  he 
would  not  remain  outclassed,  for  any  long 
79 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

time,  by  a  boy  of  his  own  age  in  any  depart- 
ment of  out-door  life. 

Bill  watched  Whitey  narrowly,  and  it  is 
probable  that  if  he  had  seen  any  exhibition  of 
"the  white  feather,"  he  would  have  stopped 
the  performance.  For  he  knew  that  confidence 
is  the  main  thing,  and  if  the  boy  were  timid,  he 
might  come  to  grief.  But  Whitey  evidently 
did  not  have  "cold  feet." 

"Buck,  you  keep  the  ol'  rack-o'-bones  from 
fallin'  apart,  an'  I'll  give  the  kid  a  hand,"  said 
Bill,  offering  to  boost  Whitey  into  the  saddle. 

"Let  me  try  to  mount  myself,"  said  Wrhitey. 
"I  may  be  out  on  the  prairie  some  time  and  it 
won't  be  convenient  to  come  way  back  here  to 
get  you  to  boost  me  up." 

"Correct,"  said  Bill,  tickled  over  the  boy's 
refusal  of  his  assistance.  "It's  always  well  to 
play  a  lone  hand — ef  yo'  got  the  cards  to  do 
it!"  And  Whitey  swung  himself  onto  the 
horse  in  as  near  an  imitation  of  the  way  of  the 
ranchmen  as  he  could. 

Once  he  was  mounted  on  the  sorrel,  after 
some  elementary  instructions  from  Bill  as  to 
80 


WHITEY  LEARNS  TO  RIDE 

mounting  and  keeping  his  seat  by  the  knee-grip, 
Buck,  who  had  stood  at  the  horse's  head,  re- 
leased his  hold,  and  the  sorrel  started  off  at  a 
lively  clip;  and  if  Whitey  had  not  remembered 
his  instructions  and  been  prepared  for  just  this 
thing,  he  would  have  been  unseated.  As  it  was, 
he  had  a  narrow  escape,  but  managed  to  stick 
on,  to  the  great  delight  of  Bill — and,  inci- 
dentally, of  himself!  Every  added  minute  on 
the  horse  gave  added  confidence  to  Whitey,  and 
as  he  began  to  get  the  swing  and  rhythm  of  it, 
he  already  felt  that  exhilaration  which  comes 
from  riding.  Injun,  of  course,  accompanied 
him,  and  the  two  boys  rode  around  the  big 
corral  to  which  his  first  essay  was  confined. 

Bill  Jordan  watched  Whitey  with  consider- 
able satisfaction;  he  had  taken  a  great  in- 
terest in  the  boy  because  he  recognized  in 
him  many  of  the  sterling  qualities  that  go  to 
make  a  man.  He  had  not  selected  a  "rocking- 
horse"  for  his  first  ride  largely  to  see  if  Whitey 
would  tackle  what  seemed  to  be  a  difficult  un- 
dertaking without  fear;  and  the  manner  in 
which  the  boy  had  "gone  to  it"  pleased  him 
81 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

immensely.  He  knew  that  there  was  really 
very  little  actual  danger,  for  the  sorrel  was 
steady  and  "honest"  and  had  no  vicious  traits, 
and  there  is  such  a  thing  as  too  much  "baby- 
ing." 

Whitey  was  strong  and  confident,  and  there 
are  worse  things  than  a  fall  from  a  horse. 
Jordan  knew,  also,  that  if  a  rider  starts  on  an 
"easy-chair"  sort  of  a  horse,  he  will  learn 
many  things  which  he  must  eventually  un-learn. 
At  any  rate,  the  proof  of  the  pudding  is  in  the 
eating,  and  the  manner  in  which  Whitey  per- 
formed justified  his  judgment.  It  would  not 
do,  of  course,  to  start  every  boy  in  this  way; 
but  Whitey  was  an  unusual  boy,  and  Bill  felt 
that  he  took  very  few  chances. 

In  the  next  few  days  Whitey  picked  up  a 
surprising  lot  of  horsemanship  and  though  he 
had  a  fall  or  two,  when  he  attempted  to  do 
some  of  the  "fancy  stuff"  that  Injun  and  the 
cow-punchers  showed  him,  he  had  no  broken 
bones,  and  he  felt  that  he  w,as  competent  to 
ride  almost  anywhere  and  keep  up  the  pace. 
Confidence,  after  all,  is  the  main  thing,  and 
82 


WHITEY  LEARNS  TO  RIDE 

this  Whitey  had  in  large  measure.  And,  what 
counts  for  much  also,  he  was  willing  to  be 
shown.  He  did  not  "know  it  all."  Any  boy 
who  starts  in  a  new  game  and  thinks  he  knows 
it  all  will  certainly  come  to  grief. 

The  taking  over  of  a  new  property  like  the 
big  Bar  O  ranch  and  getting  the  run  of  things 
is  no  small  job;  and  Mr.  Sherwood  was  kept 
too  busy  to  pay  more  than  casual  attention  to 
Whitey.  Thus  the  two  boys  were  left  almost 
entirely  to  themselves,  although  Bill  Jordan 
kept  an  eye  on  them,  as  did  many  of  the  ranch- 
hands  with  whom  they  were  favorites. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE  BOYS  SETTLE  A  QUESTION 

NOT  only  is  it  impossible  for  two  red-blooded 
boys  to  be  together  for  any  length  of  time  with- 
out engaging  in  some  kind  of  competition,  but 
usually  that  competition  takes  the  form  of  see- 
ing "who  is  the  best  man!"  No  boy  likes  to 
be  out-done  at  any  sport ;  and  if  he  is,  he  usually 
tries  to  improve  in  that  sport,  or  casts  about  to 
find  something  at  which  he  is  better  than  his 
victor.  Whitey  was  compelled  to  acknowledge 
that  Injun  was  the  better  shot — how  long  he 
would  remain  better,  especially  with  the  rifle, 
was  a  matter  that  was  up  to  Whitey — but  the 
strongest  and  fleetest  boy  in  the  big  Eastern 
school  was  not  going  to  acknowledge  Injun's 
superiority  in  other  branches  of  sport  until 
he  was  obliged  to  do  so. 


THE  BOYS  SETTLE  A  QUESTION 

As  far  as  riding  was  concerned,  there  was  no 
comparison  at  all ;  and  again  Whitey  was  com- 
pelled to  admit  inferiority.  But  he  knew  that 
his  rival  had  by  far  the  better  horse,  and  had 
practically  been  brought  up  on  his  back;  and 
Whitey  felt  that,  given  an  equal  opportunity, 
he,  too,  could  ride  as  well  as  the  next  boy.  If 
spending  most  of  his  waking  hours  in  the  sad- 
dle would  accomplish  this,  he  determined  to 
put  them  in  that  way. 

It  must  not  be  understood  that  Whitey  was 
a  "poor  loser" — such  was  far  from  the  truth. 
Defeat  did  not  make  him  "sore"  and  engender 
hatred  in  him ;  it  only  made  him  try  the  harder. 
He  was  always  the  first  to  congratulate  his 
successful  rival,  and  to  make  up  his  mind  that 
he  would  strive  to  equal  or  excel  his  rival's 
performance.  In  this  instance,  however,  he 
realized  that  he  was  "playing  Injun's  own 
game";  and  maybe,  if  Injun  played  some  of 
Whitey's  games,  he  would  not  come  off  any 
better  than  Whitey  had  at  Injun's. 

It  was  several  days  before  the  stiffness  from 
riding  began  to  leave  Whitey's  muscles  and 
85 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

they  assumed  their  usual  elasticity ;  but  he  had 
stuck  to  his  saddle  during  that  time,  and  gradu- 
ally the  soreness  began  to  wear  away.  He  also 
had  acquired  confidence  and  a  knowledge  of  his 
horse,  the  sorrel,  which  he  had  named  Monty, 
and  Monty  had  begun  to  know  him.  This  is  a 
necessity  for  really  finished  or  satisfactory  rid- 
ing; and,  on  the  advice  of  Bill  Jordan,  Whitey 
assumed  entire  charge  of  the  horse,  grooming 
and  feeding  and  watering  him,  and  ingratiating 
himself  into  Monty's  confidence  and  affection 
in  every  way  that  he  could  until  he  had  estab- 
lished an  understanding  between  them. 

"Ef  yo'  an'  that  sorrel  gets  to  be  pals,"  said 
Bill,  "Yo'  hes  gone  a  long  ways  toward  bein' 
a  rider.  Team-work  counts  for  a  heap  in  that 
game!" 

And  so,  although  it  would  be  a  long  time  be- 
fore Whitey  and  Monty  could  ever  hope  to 
rival  Injun  and  his  pinto,  yet,  for  all  practical 
purposes,  Wh;tey  became  a  fair  horseman,  and 
the  pair  made  a  good  combination.  He  even 
had  aspirations  toward  riding  one  of  the  buck- 
ing bronchos  that  the  boys  broke  in  the  corral ; 
86 


THE  BOYS  SETTLE  A  QUESTION 

but  Bill  Jordan  put  a  veto  on  this,  and  said  that 
there  would  be  "plenty  of  time  for  thet  stuff 
when  funeral  expenses  ain't  so  high !" 

On  most  of  his  excursions  out  into  the  prai- 
rie, Injun  accompanied  him,  and  seldom  did  the 
two  boys  come  back  to  the  ranch  without  a 
race.  At  first  Injun  won  regularly;  but  as 
Whitey  learned  to  ride,  he  gradually  shortened 
the  distance  by  which  he  and  Monty  were  the 
losers,  until  it  became  nip  and  tuck,  and  finally 
Whitey  and  Monty  had  won  two  heats  in  suc- 
cession. 

On  the  third  day,  as  they  came  in  neck 
and  neck,  the  two  boys  rode  so  close  together 
that  they  could  touch  each  other;  and  before 
they  knew  it,  were  indulging  in  that  most  haz- 
ardous and  difficult  game,  wrestling  on  horse- 
back. Injun,  who  was  literally  part  of  the 
horse,  finally  succeeded  in  unseating  Whitey, 
and  the  latter  hit  the  ground  with  a  thump. 

Whitey  picked  himself  up,  and  grinning, 
said,  "Injun,  you  might  throw  me  when  we're 
on  our  horses,  but  you  couldn't  do  it  on  the 
ground !" 

87 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

Injun  slipped  from  his  pinto,  laid  aside  his 
bow  and  arrows  and  his  hunting-knife,  and  ac- 
cepted the  challenge  without  hesitation :  "Me 
'rassle,"  he  said,  and  began  to  slip  around 
Whitey  with  a  gliding  and  panther-like  mo- 
tion, looking  for  a  hold.  Whitey  faced  him 
alertly,  and  for  a  moment  nothing  else  hap- 
pened. Bill  Jordan  and  several  of  the  boys 
watched  the  contest  from  the  fence  of  the  cor- 
ral. Suddenly,  Injun  darted  in  with  the  swift- 
ness of  a  rattlesnake  making  a  strike,  and  se- 
cured a  hold  on  Whitey's  leg,  coming  within  an 
ace  of  upsetting  him.  But  Whitey  was  not  to 
be  upset  so  easily;  he  seized  Injun's  arm  with 
one  hand,  and  putting  his  forearm  under  In- 
jun's chin,  forced  his  head  back;  and  exerting 
his  thigh-muscles,  he  broke  Injun's  hold  on 
his  leg.  Quickly  shifting  his  hold  from  Injun's 
arm,  and  slipping  his  other  arm  beneath  In- 
jun's, he  secured  what  boys  call  "an  under- 
hold" ;  and  then,  half  turning,  he  threw  Injun 
over  his  hip  to  the  ground,  heavily. 

But  Whitey  came  down,  too,  although  he  was 
on  top;  for  Injun  had  locked  his  arms  about 
88 


THE  BOYS  SETTLE  A  QUESTION 

Whitey's  neck  and  held  on  with  a  grip  like  a 
vise.  They  were  locked  in  this  way  for  perhaps 
two  minutes,  but  Whitey  knew  that  it  was  only 
a  matter  of  time  when  he  could  break  this  hold, 
and  he  was  in  no  hurry.  At  the  slightest  re- 
laxation of  the  pressure  that  Injun  was  put- 
ting on,  he  could  get  one  of  his  hands  under 
Injun's  arms,  or  he  could  twist  out.  He  felt, 
at  first  contact  that  he  was  stronger  than  Injun 
and  a  good  deal  heavier,  and  these  are  two  big 
assets  in  wrestling,  though  the  smaller  boy  was 
perhaps  quicker.  And  then,  too,  Whitey  knew 
many  wrestling  holds,  while  Injun  depended 
entirely  upon  his  natural  instincts;  this,  also, 
was  greatly  to  Whitey's  advantage. 

But  there  was  one  thing  Whitey  had  not 
reckoned  on,  and  that  was  Injun's  nature — 
Injun  was  getting  angry,  and  Whitey  could 
feel  that  his  opponent  was  trying  to  strangle 
him,  and  meant  to  do  him  some  injury  if  he 
could. 

"What  are  you  trying  to  do?"  asked  Whitey 
as  Injun  put  on  more  pressure.  "This  isn't  a 
fight — we're  not  trying  to  kill  each  other !"  But 

89 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

Injun  made  no  reply  but  continued  to  rough  it. 

This  put  a  new  face  on  the  matter,  and 
Whitey  quickly  slid  one  hand  beneath  Injun's 
arm,  and  prying  it  up,  he  wrenched  his  head 
from  Injun's  strangle-hold  in  no  very  gentle 
manner.  As  he  did  this,  Injun  slid  out  from 
under  him  and  got  to  his  hands  and  knees  in 
a  sort  of  "dog-fall";  and  this  gave  Whitey  a 
chance  to  twist  one  of  Injun's  arms  around 
his  back  and  force  it  upward  between  the 
shoulder-blades  in  what  is  known  as  a  "ham- 
mer-lock," and  quickly  turned  Injun  over  on 
his  back  and  pinned  his  shoulders  down.  Once 
Injun  was  "down"  and  manifestly  helpless, 
Whitey  jumped  to  his  feet  and  held  out  his 
hand;  but  Injun  rose  slowly  and  did  not  take 
it. 

"Look  out  fer  that  Injun,"  said  one  of  the 
boys  to  Bill  Jordan,  "he's  bad  medicine !  He'll 
do  that  kid  some  dirt,  first  thing  y'  know!" 
But  the  warning  was  unnecessary,  for  Bill  was 
already  on  his  way  toward  the  two  boys. 

Quick  as  a  flash  Injun  stooped  and  picked  up 
his  knife  which  he  had  thrown  beside  his  bow 
90 


THE  BOYS  SETTLE  A  QUESTION 

and  arrows,  and  turned  to  Whitey ;  but  the  lat- 
ter was  ready  and  proceeded  to  show  Injun 
a  game  that  Injun  knew  nothing  about  what- 
ever. The  Indian,  in  the  wilds,  doesn't  know 
anything  about  using  his  fists — he  fights  only 
with  a  weapon.  Boxing  is  confined,  almost 
entirely,  to  the  Anglo-Saxon  race,  and  when 
Whitey's  solid  fist  landed  on  Injun's  jaw  with 
all  the  force  that  Whitey  could  put  into  a 
long  swing,  Injun  was  a  very  much  astonished 
young  man,  and  he  went  down  in  a  heap,  his 
arms  stretched  out  and  his  eyes  blinking  and 
his  mind  dazed.  Whitey  stepped  on  the  wrist 
of  the  hand  that  held  the  knife,  and  took  it  out 
of  the  boy's  hand  and  threw  it  far  from  them. 

Seeing  this,  and  knowing  that  any  real  dan- 
ger was  over,  Bill  and  the  boys  stopped. 

"Might  as  well  let  'em  have  it  out,"  said  Bill. 
"They'll  have  to  settle  who's  boss,  an'  it  may 
as  well  be  now  as  any  other  time.  That  Whitey 
person  ain't  no  slouch !  Did  you  see  the  slam 
he  handed  that  kid. 

Injun  evidently  didn't  think  that  he  was 
licked  yet,  for  he  made  one  more  rush,  as  he 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

struggled  to  his  feet — and  only  one.  For  as 
good  a  boxer  as  Whitey,  he  offered  too  big  a 
mark  to  miss ;  and  as  he  came  in,  head  down, 
he  was  met  by  a  fair  and  square  left-hand  up- 
per-cut on  the  nose ;  and  when  he  straightened 
from  this  Whitey  promptly  knocked  him  down 
with  his  right. 

Then  he  stood  off,  waiting  for  Injun  to  get 
up;  but  Injun  was  in  no  hurry.  He  looked 
solemnly  at  Bill  and  the  boys.  When  he  rose 
slowly  to  his  feet,  Whitey  picked  up  the  knife 
and  the  bow  and  arrows  and  walked  up  to  Injun 
and  handed  them  to  him.  Injun  took  them 
wonderingly ;  he  couldn't  understand  such  con- 
duct in  a  victor,  at  all !  Then  Whitey  held  out 
his  hand.  "I'm  sorry  I  had  to  hit  you,"  he  said. 
"But  you  got  mad !"  Injun  looked  at  him  for 
a  long  time;  then  he  took  the  hand.  "You 
boss !"  he  said,  as  he  leaped  upon  the  pinto  and 
was  gone. 

Bill  slapped  Whitey  on  the  back:     "Son," 

he  said,  "I  guess  you'll  do!    I  reckon  you 

kin  take  care  of  yerself  most  any  time!    An' 

you  give  that  Kid  jes'  what  he  deserved — a 

92 


THE  BOYS  SETTLE  A  QUESTION 

good  lickin' !  An'  you  fought  f a;r — like  a  white 
man!" 

"An'  'f  I  was  you,"  said  one  of  the  boys, 
"I'd  keep  my  eye  on  thet  coyote.  He'll  sneak 
up  on  ye  some  time  an'  see  how  far  he  kin 
run  thet  knife  o'  his'n  in  yer  backl  I  wouldn't 
trust  them  birds!" 

"Well,"  said  Bill,  "mebbe  y'  better  watch 
him  fer  a  spell;  but  I  don't  figger  him  thet 
way.  He's  a  game  little  rooster,  an'  gener'ly 
them  thet's  game  has  got  somethin'  to  'em. 
Besides,  he's  different  from  the  gener'l  run 
o'  his  tribe.  He  done  said  you  was  boss !  An' 
I  take  it,  thet  means  he's  surrendered,  an'  '11 
walk  turkey  from  now  on.  We'll  see." 

"What's  all  this  about?"  asked  Mr.  Sher- 
wood, coming  up  just  then.  "You  look  a  little 
mussed  up,"  he  added,  turning  to  Whitey. 

"Your  boy  jes'  hed  a  slight  argyment  with 
the  injun,  an'  he  convinced  him,"  said  Bill. 
"Thet's  all." 

"And  what  was  it  he  convinced  the  Indian 
of?"  asked  Mr.  Sherwood,  smiling. 
93 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

"He  convinced  him  of  the  sooperiority  of  the 
White  race,"  said  Bill.  "Convinced  him  good 
an'  plenty — right  on  the  nose — an'  other 
parts!" 


94 


CHAPTER  X 

A  FRIEND  IN  NEED 

THE  accuracy  of  Bill  Jordan's  estimate  of 
Injun  was  clearly  demonstrated  very  soon 
afterward.  Injun  did  not  appear  at  the  ranch 
the  day  following  his  "argument"  with  Whitey ; 
and  it  must  be  confessed  that  the  latter  missed 
him  sorely.  The  usual  sports  and  occupations 
had  lost  a  good  deal  of  their  zest,  and  life 
wasn't  quite  the  same  to  Whitey.  Injun,  ac- 
customed as  he  was  to  a  solitary  and  inde- 
pendent life,  probably  felt  the  separation  less; 
but  that  he  felt  it,  is  certain. 

For  on  the  following  day,  he  appeared  early, 
and  made  no  pretense  that  he  had  come  on  any 
other  errand  than  to  offer  peace.  He  did  not 
bring  a  peace-pipe  for  Whitey  to  smoke  with 
him,  but  he  brought  what  was  equivalent  to  it 
95 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

— a  fine  lariat  which  he  presented  to  Whitey  at 
the  corral  with  no  words  and  no  ceremony, 
simply  handing  it  to  him  and  letting  it  go  at 
that.  Like  the  rest  of  his  race,  Injun  was  not 
demonstrative. 

Whitey  accepted  the  gift  in  the  spirit  in 
which  it  was  given  and  thanked  Injun  for  it; 
and  at  once  proceeded  to  try  it  under  the 
tutelage  of  his  companion  who  already  had 
acquired  considerable  skill  in  its  use. 

Bill  Jordan  had  been  near  at  hand  when  the 
reconciliation  between  the  two  boys  had  oc- 
curred, thinking  that  perhaps  it  was  not  best 
to  trust  the  red  boy  too  far;  but  the  latter's 
manner  soon  convinced  Bill  that  things  were  as 
they  should  be  and  that  the  lad  was  no  "Injun- 
giver,"  and  that  there  was  no  sinister  motive 
behind  his  seeming  generosity.  Bill  examined 
the  lariat  closely,  and  a  smile  came  over  his 
face  as  he  asked :  "Where'd  you  grab  off  this 
here  rope,  Injun?"  Injun  looked  frankly  at 
Bill  and  said,  "Him  Pedro  leave  him." 

Bill  laughed :  "He  shore  did,  Injun !"  And 
then  he  explained  to  Whitey:  "This  here 


A  FRIEND  IN  NEED 


Pedro  person  was  some  complicated  into  more 
kinds  of  evil  deviltry  an'  wickedness,  includin' 
cattle  rustlin',  than  any  six  men  oughta  be. 
He's  a  half-breed  Canuck,  bein'  called  Tedro', 
'count  o'  him  havin'  more'n  ord'nary  skill  at 
playin'  a  card-game  by  thet  name.  He  had 
most  pressin'  reasons  to  go  away  from  here 
right  sudden,  an'  he  neglected  to  take  some  of 
his  belongings — which  he  prob'ally  stole  in  the 
first  place.  You  title  is  good,  Injun — better'n 
Pedro's,  anyhow !" 

"Where  is  he  now?"  asked  Whitey. 

"Anybody  who  will  tell  me  that,"  said  Bill, 
"will  get  a  vote  o'  thanks  all  wrote  out  on 
paper  an'  tied  with  a  pink  ribbon!  I'd  travel 
some  consid'able  distance  afoot  if  I  figgered  I 
c'd  meet  up  with  thet  pizen  hombrey.  When 
he  left,  he  didn't  leave  no  forwardin'  address — 
the'  was  a  lot  o'  things  comin'  to  him  thet  he 
wasn't  partic'lar  'bout  receivin'.  If  he's  where 
I  hope  he  is,  an'  where  he  oughta  be,  he  don't 
need  no  overcoat  ner  blanket!  I  reckon  this 
here  Injun  mebbe'd  like  to  know  where  he  is, 
too!"  laughed  Bill.  "Injun  had  consider'ble 
97 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

to  do  with  showin'  up  that  skunk,  an'  he's  some 
sore  on  Injun — I'll  tell  yo'  'bout  it  sometime." 

The  subject  of  Pedro  apparently  was  not  a 
very  pleasant  one  to  Bill,  and  he  changed  the 
subject  abruptly.  "Lemme  see  what  I  kin  do 
with  thet  rope,"  he  said,  and  Whitey  handed  it 
to  him,  delightedly.  Bill  took  the  "rope,"  and 
proceeded  to  show  the  boys  some  stunts  that 
opened  Whitey's  eyes,  especially  the  fancy  ones. 
And  as  he  performed  each  one,  he  told  the 
boys  that  "he  was  plumb  outa  practice." 

"I'd  like  to  see  you  when  you  are  in  prac- 
tice !"  said  Whitey ;  "but  I  want  to  know,  Mr. 
Jordan,  if  those  stunts  are  really  any  good?" 

"Well,"  said  Bill,  "o'  course  the  main  thing 
to  do  with  a  rope  is  to  ketch  somethin'  with  it, 
an'  I  didn't  ketch  nuthin'  but  mebbe  a  little 
applause ;  but  yo'  learn  them  things  f  oolin'  with 
the  rope,  an'  the  more  yo'  fool  with  anythin', 
the  more  yo'  learn  about  it,  and  the  more  con- 
trol yo'  get  over  it.  I  wouldn't  say  thet  the 
time  spent  in  learnin'  them  things  was  dl 
throwed  away.  Mebbe  they  ain't  so  useless  as 
they  seem."  Bill  smiled — that  rare,  quiet, 


A  FRIEND  IN  NEED 


quizzical  smile  of  his,  as  he  asked  innocently, 
"Was  yo'  thinkin'  o'  puttin'  in  the  whole  morn- 
in'  an'  learnin'  'em?" 

Whitey  laughed ;  he  had  tried  the  lariat  and 
he  knew  how  difficult  it  is  to  do  anything  with 
it  at  all.  "Not  this  morning!"  he  said.  "I'm 
going  to  wait  until  no  one  is  looking.  I  think 
I'll  get  better  acquainted  with  my  horse  before 
I  tackle  a  new  job !" 

"One  thing  at  a  time  is  good  dope,"  said 
Bill.  "Hev  yo'  got  so  yo'  kin  set  on  that  ol' 
hobby-horse  without  holdin'  onto  his  mane?" 

Whitey  laughed;  and  for  an  answer,  he 
vaulted  onto  Monty's  back,  and,  followed  by 
Injun,  he  galloped  away. 

As  the  boys  rode  away  from  the  ranch  house 
across  the  prairie  toward  the  mountains,  they 
came  upon  numerous  small  streams,  some 
of  them  so  deep  or  so  swift  that  they 
could  not  be  readily  forded.  Here  was 
a  new  experience — "swimming  a  horse"  across 
a  stream.  Injun,  of  course,  showed  the  way, 
and  Whitey  learned  that,  if  the  current  is  at 
all  swift,  you  must  enter  the  water  above  the 
99 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

spot  where  you  wish  to  land,  so  that  you  will 
be  carried  down-stream  to  the  proper  place. 
And  it  was  here  that  Whitey  had  his  first  real 
adventure;  though  had  it  not  been  for  Injun, 
there  is  no  telling  but  the  story  of  Whitey 
would  have  to  come  to  an  end  right  here. 

The  boys  had  dismounted  on  the  bank  of  one 
of  these  streams,  and  Whitey  had  tied  his  horse 
in  the  way  Injun  showed  him.  Injun's  pony 
did  not  require  tieing,  for  the  reason  that  no 
dog  ever  followed  his  master  with  more  fidelity 
than  did  the  pony  follow  Injun. 

As  Whitey  ran  down  the  steep  bank  onto 
the  rocks  that  bordered  the  stream,  he  saw, 
not  more  than  ten  feet  away  from  him,  a  rattle- 
snake sunning  himself  on  a  flat  rock.  If 
Whitey  had  been  a  Western  boy,  he  never 
would  have  done  what  he  did,  and  that  was 
to  stoop  and  pick  up  a  stone  and  take  careful 
aim  at  the  snake.  In  fact,  he  took  too  careful 
aim !  Rattlesnakes  are  born  fighters,  and  nat- 
urally object  to  being  hit  by  rocks  thrown  by 
boys  or  anybody  else.  And  at  exactly  the  same 
instant  that  White  threw  the  stone,  the  rattler 
•  100 


A  FRIEND  IN  NEED 


jumped  for  him — and  a  rattler  is  a  considerable 
jumper.  The  rock  and  the  snake  probably 
passed  each  other  in  the  air ! 

At  any  rate,  the  rock  did  not  hit  the  snake, 
and  it  seemed  that  the  snake  did  not  hit  the  boy ; 
but  for  the  next  few  seconds  the  air  was  full 
of  snake  and  boy — the  boy  doing  a  dance  that 
would  put  to  shame  any  professional.  Whitey 
hopped  high  and  far  and  frequently,  but  he 
couldn't  get  out  of  reach  of  the  snake.  But  a 
rattler  must  coil  to  strike  effectively;  and  al- 
though this  one  did,  very  quickly,  he  was  not 
quite  quick  enough. 

Injun  had  come  to  the  edge  of  the  bank  and 
had  taken  in  the  situation  at  a  glance,  and 
he  acted  instantly.  In  an  incredibly  short  time, 
he  had  fitted  an  arrow  to  his  bow,  and  when 
the  snake  coiled,  it  was  the  last  thing  that  Mr. 
Snake  ever  did!  Injun's  arrow  hit  him  just 
below  his  ugly,  flat  head,  an  pinned  him  to  the 
ground  for  a  moment,  where  he  writhed  and 
twisted  for  a  time  and  then  lay  still.  Injun 
paid  no  attention  to  the  snake,  but  turned 
anxiously  to  Whitey. 

101 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

"Him  bite  you?"  he  asked  earnestly. 

"No,"  answered  Whitey,  "guess  not— I 
didn't  feel  anything.  He  made  me  hop  some, 
though,"  he  added,  going  toward  the  dead 
snake  as  though  to  examine  it. 

But  Injun  was  not  satisfied;  he  stopped 
Whitey  and  made  him  take  off  his  shoes  and 
stockings  and  roll  up  his  trousers  and  examine 
his  legs  critically  for  any  evidences  of  a  bite. 
In  the  calf  of  Whitey's  leg,  there  was  an  almost 
imperceptible  scratch;  Injun  examined  it,  and 
at  once  applied  his  lips  to  the  wound  and  sucked 
the  blood  from  it  and  spat  it  out;  and  this  he 
repeated  several  times,  while  Whitey  looked 
on,  grinning  and  wondering  what  it  was  all 
about.  Then  Injun  took  Whitey's  handker- 
chief from  about  his  neck  and  tieing  it  above 
the  wound — nearer  to  the  heart — he  knotted 
it,  ran  a  short  stick  through  the  knot,  and 
twisted  the  stick  until  the  handkerchief  was 
very  tight.  This  is  the  first  thing  to  be  done  in 
case  of  snake-bite,  as  it  prevents,  in  a  measure, 
the  poison  from  getting  into  the  circulation. 
102 


A  FRIEND  IN  NEED 


"Gee!"  said  Whitey,  "my  leg  feels  numb — I 
guess  you  got  that  thing  too  tight !" 

Injun  shook  his  head  and  insisted  that 
Whitey  get  onto  his  horse  and  ride  back. 
Whitey  agreed,  though  he  had  begun  to  feel 
a  certain  drowsy  numbness  all  over  him,  and 
Injun  had  to  help  him  mount. 

It  was  plain  to  Injun  that  Whitey  never 
would  be  able  to  stay  on  his  horse  unassisted, 
and  he  mounted  behind  him  and  held  him  on, 
calling  to  his  own  pony  to  follow. 

In  this  manner  the  two  boys  came  to  the 
ranch-house,  where  Whitey  was  taken  in  hand 
by  Bill  and  Mr.  Sherwood  and  the  usual  reme- 
dies administered,  one  of  them  being  to  pour 
whiskey  into  the  victim. 

The  poison  of  a  rattlesnake  has  a  tendency 
to  stop  The  heart,  and  whiskey  is  given  to  stim- 
ulate it — to  make  it  beat  faster — a  primitive 
remedy  and  one  that  doesn't  always  work.  And 
then,  too,  it  is  a  question  in  the  minds  of  many 
people  as  to  which  is  the  worse  poison,  rattle- 
snake juice  or  whiskey! 

It  was  evident  that  Injun  was  not  altogether 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

satisfied  with  the  treatment  that  his  pal  was 
getting;  and  he  leaped  upon  his  pinto  and 
dashed  away.  After  a  time  he  returned  with 
an  old  Indian  Squaw,  who  set  up  her  tripod  of 
sticks  and  hung  her  kettle  over  a  small  fire  and 
cooked  some  of  the  herbs  that  she  had  in  a 
little  bag.  A  couple  of  days  later  Whitey  woke 
up  and  proceeded  to  get  well — thanks  to  the 
squaw  and  to  Injun ! 

And  it  is  quite  certain  that  he  never  again 
set  out  to  kill  a  six-foot  rattler  with  a  rock! 
If  a  man  hasn't  a  gun  handy,  it  is  just  as  well  to 
give  the  rattler  his  full  half  of  the  road — or 
the  whole  of  it,  for  that  matter,  if  he  seems  to 
want  it. 


104 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  CHINOOK  WIND 

DURING  the  days  of  Whitey's  convalescence 
Injun  and  Bill  Jordan  were  unremitting  in  their 
attendance  upon  him  and  in  their  efforts  to 
make  things  pleasant.  Whitey  had  had  a  very 
narrow  escape,  but  thanks  to  the  squaw  and 
to  Injun,  their  quick  and  effective  methods,  and 
to  his  own  good  constitution,  it  was  only  a  few 
days  before  he  felt  almost  entirely  recovered 
and  the  ill-effects  had  nearly  disappeared. 
Whitey  realized  that  it  takes  some  time  to 
many  to  become  a  "real  Westerner,"  and  that 
there  are  many  "dent's"  as  well  as  "do's"  in 
,the  program  of  life  in  the  foot-hills  of  the 
Rockies. 

As  Bill  Jordan  sat  by  Whitey's  chair  on  the 
piazza,  he  told  the  boy  many  things — not  as  a 
105 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

teacher  instructing  a  pupil — but  as  stories  that 
should  suggest  a  course  of  conduct  to  be  fol- 
lowed when  certain  exigencies  presented  them- 
selves. One  of  the  cardinal  principals  that  Bill 
laid  down  was  that  a  boy,  or  a  man,  must  keep 
his  eyes  open  at  all  times.  Bill  maintained,  and 
it  is  probably  true,  that  any  boy  of  good,  com- 
mon sense  is  far  safer  on  the  ranch  and  its 
environs  than  he  would  be  on  Broadway  or  the 
streets  of  any  big  city;  but  he  must  keep  his 
eyes  open  and  learn  to  read  the  signs.  Nature 
has  signs  that  are  just  as  plain  and  legible  as 
the  signs  that  mark  the  traffic  and  guide  the. 
citizen  in  his  daily  life.  A  careful  person 
doesn't  disregard  these  signs  and  rules  of  con- 
duct in  the  city;  and  the  careful  plainsman  or 
mountaineer  should  not  disregard  those  that 
should  guide  and  regulate  him  in  the  Great 
out-doors. 

"Ever  hear  of  a  Chinook  wind?"  asked  Bill, 

as  he  and  Injun  and  Whitey  sat  on  the  broad 

piazza  of  the  ranch  house,  when  Whitey  was 

able  to  be  up.     Injun  said  nothing,  but  his 

1 06 


THE  CHINOOK  WIND 


face  showed  that  he  knew  all  about  the  Chinook 
wind. 

"Well,"  continued  Bill,  addressing  Whitey, 
"it's  a  warm  wind  thet's  liable  to  come  any 
time  durin'  the  winter  months;  but  it  usually 
comes  along  'bout  February  er  March.  The 
snow  all  melts  an'  the  sun  shines  an'  the  grass 
begins  to  sprout  an'  the  stock  commences  to 
feed  an'  wander  away  from  the  home  corrals. 
Now  this  here  Mister  Chinook  Wind'd  be  a 
wonderful  thing  if  he  was  on  the  level — which 
he  ain't.  Not  by  no  means!  He's  a  shore- 
enough  villain,  an'  could  play  the  villain's  part 
in  any  story  an'  live  up  to  it !  He  come  mighty 
near  finishin'  me  an'  some  others  once !"  And 
Bill  stopped  and  rolled  a  cigarette,  though  it 
was  plain  that  the  two  boys  were  all  eagerness 
to  hear  the  story. 

"It  was  like  this,"  said  Bill,  blowing  out  a 
big  whiff  of  smoke ;  "Old  Man  Holloway  lived 
about  eighty  mile  from  Bismarck — had  lived 
there  fer  ten  years  er  more,  an'  should  hev 
knowed  better — an'  he  had  some  business  that 
ought  of  bin  did  'long  in  the  winter;  but  the 
107 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

winter  bed  bin  a  hard  one  an'  he  didn't  hev  a 
Chinaman's  chance  o'  gettin'  up  to  town.  'Long 
towards  spring,  comes  Mr.  Chinook  Wind  an' 
got  in  his  fine  work." 

Bill  paused,  and  Whitey  asked,  "What  did 
the  wind  do?" 

"Well,"  said  Bill,  slowly,  "it's  a  funny  thing 
'bout  a  Chinook  wind — it's  fooled  the  people  in 
the  West  since  the  beginnin'  of  time,  an*  't 
seem  's  though  it's  goin'  right  on  an'  fool  'em 
till  the  end  o'  time!  Must  be  it's  his  balmy, 
soft-soapy  ways!  You  couldn't  never  ask  fer 
no  nicer  weather  'n  we  had  fer  some  days,  that 
spring,  an'  Old  Man  Holloway  concluded  he 
strike  out  fer  Bismarck — never  give  the 
weather  a  thought 't  all.  He  was  so  sure  thet 
he  didn't  even  hesitate  'bout  takin'  his  ten- 
year-old  boy,  Jim,  'long  with  him;  an'  y'  kin 
gamble  thet  if  he'd  sensed  any  danger  he 
wouldn't  of  took  Jim — 'cause  there  was  just 
two  things  thet  Jim's  father  loved — and  Jim 
was  both  of  'em ! 

"They  set  out  with  two  saddle-horses  and 
two  pack-horses  on  the  eighty-mile  trip,  an' 
108 


THE  CHINOOK  WIND 


fer  forty-five  mile  everything  was  fine  as  silk. 
The  night  camp  was  made,  an'  the  coyotes  sung 
the'r  little  songs,  as  per  usual.  An'  next  morn- 
in',  they  put  away  a  big  breakfast  o'  beans  an* 
bacon,  and  started  out  on  the  last  lap  o'  the 
trip. 

"Long  late  in  th'  afternoon  things  begun 
to  happen.  Mr.  Chinook  Wind  he'd  got  tired  o' 
bein'  nice ;  he'd  gone  courtin'  all  over  thet  part 
o'  the  country,  an'  he'd  let  the  sun  shine  on 
the  hills,  an'  he'd  laughed — a  nice,  chucklin' 
little  laugh — with  all  the  rivers,  an'  flirted  with 
the  trees  an'  lullabied  'most  everybody  to  sleep. 
Then  he  got  tired  er  got  a  grouch  an'  didn't 
want  t'  play  any  more!  He  jes'  says,-'Good- 
by!  I'm  gone!'  An'  he  let  Winter  take  his 
place.  An'  though  it  lacked  three  hours  o' 
sun-down,  the  sun  hid  hisself  an'  it  got  dark, 
an'  then  it  got  darker;  an'  the  winter  wind 
commenced  to  whistle — not  a  nice,  clean  tune 
of  a  whistle,  but  an  ugly,  threatenin'  sort  of 
a  sound — like  a  fire-engine  whistle  in  the  night. 
It  was  pretty  tol'able  dark,  but  it  was  light 
enough  fer  Jim  t'  see  thet  his  dad's  face  was 
109 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

white.  Old  Man  Holloway  wasn't  sayin' 
much,  but  he  was  doin'  a  heap  o'  thinkin'.  An' 
pretty  soon,  things  begun  to  fall  through  the 
air  which  was  snow,  but  nobody  ever  seen  snow 
like  it  before  ner  since.  The  flakes  was  as  big 
as  plates,  an'  they  was  f  allin'  so  thick  thet  they 
seemed  like  a  solid  wall !" 

Bill  paused,  reminiscently,  and  Whitey 
waited  eagerly  for  the  finish  of  the  story.  In- 
jun sat  impassive — he  knew  pretty  well  what 
Bill  was  talking  about. 

"Bime  by,  Jim  thought  his  father's  horse 
hed  bumped  into  him ;  but  when  he  looked  up, 
he  seen  it  was  a  strange  man — it  was  me !  An* 
the  strange  man  hed  five  other  men  with  him 
• — they  was  outriders  lookin'  fer  stray  cattle, 
an*  the  fact  thet  they'd  run  into  Jim  an'  his 
father  was  the  only  thing  thet  saved  both  the'r 
lives. 

"By  this  time,  the  wind  was  blowin'  great 
guns — y'  couldn't  hear  yerself  think — an'  what 
with  the  darkness  an'  snow,  it  didn't  look  like 
much  could  be  done."  Bill  paused.  "A  horse 
er  a  steer,"  he  said,  digressing,  "never  tries  to 
no 


THE  CHINOOK  WIND 


do  anythin';  they  jes'  turn  the'r  head  away 
from  the  wind  an'  drop  it  down  an'  wait  fer 
the  finish!  Humans  is  different.  God  didn't 
give  horses  an5  steers  human  intelligence,  an* 
humans  hev  to  use  the  intelligence  they  hev 
to  protect  'emselves."  Bill  paused  again,  as 
though  he  disliked  to  say  what  he  intended,  but, 
after  a  moment,  he  resumed. 

"It  may  seem  mighty  hard  on  the  hosses 
— what  happened — but  it  was  the  only  thing 
that  could  be  done;  an'  if  folks  'd  think  it 
over,  mebbe  they'll  realize  thet  it  was  the  most 
merciful  thing  thet  could  be  did  fer  all  hands, 
— I  means  fer  the  hosses  too.  They  was  led 
into  a  little  circle,  head  to  tail,  an'  each  ranch 
rider  put  his  gun  between  his  horse's  eyes  an' 
fired!" 

It  was  very  plain  that  Bill  could  not  think 
of  this  act  without  pain,  although  it  had  been 
a  necessary  one,  and  the  saving  of  human 
lives  was  made  possible  only  by  the  sacrifice  of 
the  lives  of  the  animals.  It  is  only  as  a  last 
resort,  that  a  plainsman  will  ever  consent  to 
the  destruction  of  his  horse.  In  many  great 
in 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

emergencies,  in  the  desert,  the  man  will  deny 
water  to  himself  that  his  horse  may  drink;  or, 
at  least,  he  will  divide  with  the  animal. 

At  length,  Bill  went  on:  "When  the  hosses 
fell,  they  made  a  sort  of  rampart  er  buffer 
against  the  storm;  an'  inside  this  little  circle, 
seven  men  an'  a  boy  crouched  fer  two  days, 
with  the'r  buffalo-robes  drawed  over  'em  an' 
the  snow  pel  tin'  and  driftin'  over  that.  Fer 
two  days,  the  blizzard  raged,  an'  the  seven  men 
an'  thet  boy  stayed  right  there!  Then  she 
broke — that  is,  she  got  so  people  could  see.  An* 
'bout  the  end  o'  the  third  day,  the  seven  men 
an'  the  boy  footed  it  into  Bismarck — an'  each 
one  o*  the  seven  men  hed  some  part  of  his  body 
frozen !  They  hed  kep'  the  boy  in  the  middle 
an'  protected  him !" 

Bill  rose  from  his  seat  and  started  to  go 
toward  the  corral,  but  stopped  for  just  another 
word.  "I  might  mention,"  he  said,  as  though 
it  were  a  matter  of  little  moment,  "to  give  yo' 
some  idea  of  a  Dakota  blizzard,  thet  when 
them  seven  men  an'  the  boy  limped  into  Bis- 
marck at  the  end  o'  the  third  day,  the  ther- 
mometer showed  fifty-two  below!" 
112 


CHAPTER  XII 

MR.  ROSS  PAYS  A  CALL 

THE  nearest  ranch  to  that  of  Mr.  Sherwood 
was  the  "Cross  and  Circle,"  which  lay  some 
twelve  or  fifteen  miles  to  the  northwest,  toward 
and  nearer  the  mountains,  near  the  left  bank  of 
Elkhorn  River,  the  ranch-house  itself  being  not 
more  than  about  a  hundred  yards  from  the 
water's  edge.  Being  nearer  the  mountains,  the 
ground  upon  which  the  ranch-house  stood  was 
of  rock  formation,  and  was  over-shadowed  by 
a  high  cliff. 

While  it  was  a  rather  valuable  property,  it 
did  not  compare  with  the  Bar  O,  either  in  its 
extent,  improvements,  or  in  its  grazing  facili- 
ties. It  was  occupied  by  Samuel  Ross,  who  had 
obtained  it  from  its  former  owner  about  six 
months  before  the  time  this  story  opens. 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

In  many  ways  Ross  had  allowed  the  ranch 
to  run  down.  The  house  needed  repair,  the 
out-buildings  and  fences  were  not  well  kept, 
and  there  was  no  semblance  of  the  discipline  or 
morale  that  prevailed  at  the  Bar  O.  It  had 
perhaps  somewhere  between  five  hundred  and  a 
thousand  head  of  cattle,  but  they  were  notori- 
ously ill-cared  for  and  neglected. 

The  ranch  was  not  noted  for  its  hospitality 
— in  fact,  exactly  the  reverse  was  the  case ;  and 
any  attempt  to  establish  anything  like  neigh- 
borly intercourse  was  frowned  upon  or  rough- 
ly declined.  The  men  kept  to  themselves  in 
a  surly,  clannish  way,  even  when  excursions 
were  made  into  town  and  "festivities"  were  in- 
dulged in  at  the  saloon  and  dance-hall  and 
gambling- joint. 

In  one  way,  this  was  not  resented.  It  is  re- 
garded as  a  man's  right  to  keep  to  himself.  In 
many  parts  of  the  West,  even  to-day,  it  is  not 
well  to  start  an  investigation  into  a  man's  fam- 
ily and  pedigree,  or  where  he  comes  from  and 
what  his  business  is.  Young  readers  may  not 
understand  why  this  is  so. 
114 


MR.  ROSS  PAYS  A  CALL 

In  the  early  days,  the  West  was  a  haven  or 
refuge  for  all  sorts  of  characters  who,  for  rea- 
sons of  their  own,  sought  to  lose  their  identities. 
Some  desired  to  escape  punishments  for  crimes 
committed  elsewhere ;  some  were  ne'er-do-wells 
or  failures  who  desired  to  start  life  over  again 
writh  a  clean  slate.  In  the  vast  confines  of  the 
West,  this  was  comparatively  easy.  In  the 
case  of  criminals,  the  law  had  difficulty  in 
reaching  into  its  remote  corners  and  dragging 
a  man  back  to  Justice.  In  the  case  of  ne'er-do- 
wells  and  failures,  they  could  start  again  on  an 
even  basis  with  other  men,  unhandicapped  by 
their  previous  records.  Thus  it  can  be  seen 
that  all  inquiry  into  a  man's  past  was  resented. 
So  general  did  this  become,  that  even  those  who 
had  nothing  whatever  to  hide  grew  to  resent 
questions  of  this  nature. 

And  the  mistake  must  not  be  made  of  think- 
ing that  the  West  was  overrun  with  people  of 
shady  records.  Nothing  could  be  further  from 
the  fact.  There  never  has  been  a  higher  stand- 
ard of  manhood  established  anywhere  in  the 
world  than  that  which  prevailed,  and  does  pre- 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

vail,  in  the  West.  And  naturally  so.  No- 
where were,  or  are,  such  great  opportunities  of- 
fered;" but  the  taking  advantage  of  these  op- 
portunities required  not  only  brains,  but  phys- 
ical fitness,  courage,  and  a  moral  fiber  of  a  high 
order  as  well.  Nowhere  in  the  world  have 
people  come  to  themselves — weeded  out  the 
bad,  separated  the  wheat  from  the  chaff,  and 
purged  themselves  from  uncleanness — in  so 
short  a  time  or  in  so  effective  a  way  as  did  the 
people  of  the  West. 

And  another  thing  that  the  West  has  had  to 
stand:  any  time  a  penny-a-liner  with  an  in- 
flamed imagination  thought  out  some  lurid, 
impossible  tale  of  blood  and  thunder  and  crime 
and  debauchery,  he  staged  it  in  the  West.  It 
is  safe  to  say  that  not  one  in  a  hundred  of  these 
"penny-dreadfuls"  was  ever  written  by  a  man 
who  had  been  west  of  Hoboken,  New  Jersey! 
As  said  before,  there  is  more  gun-play  in  New 
York  City  in  one  month  than  there  is  in  all  the 
states  west  of  the  Mississippi  in  one  year !  And 
we'll  throw  in  Alaska,  too,  for  good  measure ! 
Of  course,  there  are  "skunks"  in  every  com- 
116 


MR.  ROSS  PAYS  A  CALL 

munity,  but  if  there  is  one  climate  in  the  world 
where  it  is  unhealthy  for  a  "skunk"  it  is  the 
climate  of  the  West.  They  can't  "get  by"  out 
there!  Not  for  very  long,  they  can't! 

With  this  matter  settled  we  can  get  back  to 
the  story. 

Ross,  himself,  was  a  huge  man,  weighing  in 
the  neighborhood  of  two  hundred  and  fifty 
pounds,  and  was  of  most  forbidding  mien.  His 
red,  bloated  face  was  encircled  by  a  closely 
cropped  thatch  of  hair  that  came  down  within 
an  inch  or  so  of  his  eyes,  and  the  lower  part 
of  his  face  was  covered  by  a  thick,  rank  growth 
of  sandy  whiskers.  His  whole  person  gave  the 
impression  of  untidiness  and  neglect,  and  prob- 
ably the  impression  did  not  belie  the  fact.  He 
seemed  to  have  a  perpetual  grouch,  and  en- 
forced his  wishes  by  sheer  brutality.  And  even 
in  the  rough  band  about  him  he  carried  thirigs 
with  a  high  hand,  and  brooked  no  crossing  of 
his  will. 

After  he  had  taken  possession  of  the  ranch 
he  had  proceeded  to  carry  on  the  business  in 
his  own  way.  The  men  about  him — the  ranch 
117 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

hands — were  a  motley  collection ;  many  of  them 
half-breeds,  and  all  of  a  similar  stripe  to  the 
boss.  There  was  no  attempt  to  conceal  the  fre- 
quent sprees  and  drunken  brawls  that  occurred 
at  the  ranch,  and  there  were  rumors  that  more 
than  one  "killing"  had  taken  place  within  the 
walls  of  the  ranch  house.  This,  of  course,  was 
a  difficult  matter  to  prove;  and  as  the  alleged 
victim  had  invariably  been  a  man  who  was  not 
especially  an  ornament  to  the  community,  no 
thorough  investigation  of  these  rumors  had 
taken  place. 

When  a  scorpion  kills  a  tarantula,  nobody 
feels  very  much  like  punishing  the  scorpion- — ; 
on  that  account,  at  least. 

But  while  the  outfit  at  the  Ross  ranch  had,  in 
general,  a  bad  name,  there  was  nothing  that 
one  could  put  his  finger  on  as  being  contrary 
to  law.  Ross  paid  his  obligations — possibly  re- 
luctantly and  late — but  he  paid  them ;  and  how- 
ever much  suspicion  of  sharp  practice  might  be 
attached  to  him,  suspicions  are  not  evidence  in 
a  court  of  law.  And  however  much  his  neigh- 
bors may  have  disliked  him,  the  dislike  had 
118 


MR.  ROSS  PAYS  A  CALL 

hardly  gotten  strong  enough  to  warrant  a 
visit  from  a  Vigilance  Committee. 

One  thing  had  caused  considerable  comment 
— no  visitor  had  ever  been  permitted  to  enter 
the  ranch-house  proper.  Many  people  had,  at 
one  time  or  another,  come  to  the  threshold ;  but 
that  was  as  far  as  they  ever  got.  The  bulky 
form  of  Ross,  or  of  some  one  equally  hospit- 
able, blocked  further  passage;  and  the  con- 
duct of  any  necessary  business  took  place  out 
in  the  ranch  yard.  While  this  may  have  caused 
comment  and  aroused  curiosity,  the  fact  re- 
mained that  "every  man's  house  is  his  castle," 
and  unless  he  has  put  himself  outside  of  the 
pale  of  the  law,  nobody  is  justified  in  violating 
it.  And  thus,  it  will  be  seen  that  Ross,  mean 
and  underhand,  as  he  undoubtedly  was,  in  many 
ways  was  well  within  his  rights. 

Ross  made  his  shipments  of  cattle  in  the 
regular  way,  but  over  a  different  branch  of 
the  railroad  from  that  used  by  the  Bar  O,  and 
as  far  as  any  one  could  see  these  shipments 
were  regular  and  not  disproportionate  to  the 
amount  the  ranch  should  make  under  proper 
119 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

handling.  It  is  doubtful  if  anybody  had  ever 
kept  actual  tabs  on  these  shipments;  and  as 
Ross  was  more  than  usually  "reticent"  about 
his  business  as  well  as  his  personal  affairs,  lit- 
tle was  really  known. 

In  view  of  the  foregoing  facts,  it  was  some- 
what surprising  to  see  Mr.  Sam  Ross  and  two 
of  his  men  ride  into  the  Bar  O  ranch  yard  early 
one  afternoon.  They  were  received  civilly,  if 
not  with  any  very  great  cordiality  by  Bill  Jor- 
dan, and  after  he  had  made  them  known  to  Mr. 
Sherwood,  Ross  opened  up. 

"Hev  yo'  all  been  losin'  stock?"  he  asked. 
Mr.  Sherwood  glanced  at  Bill,  putting  the  mat- 
ter up  to  him. 

'Well,  yes,"  said  Bill  Jordan,  cautiously,  an- 
swering for  Sherwood,  "I  reckon  we  hev  had 
some  losses — not  nuthin'  very  much,  but  some, 
and  pretty  continual.  Hev  you?" 

'We  hev,"  said  Ross,  emphatically,  "an* 
enough  to  speak  'bout,  too !  But  we  can't  find 
hide  ner  hair  ner  no  trace  of  any  rustlers,  'less'n 
it  be  them  Injuns  thet's  down  toward  the  Fork. 

120 


MR.  ROSS  PAYS  A  CALL 

An*  yet  we  can't  find  nuthin'  to  fix  it  onto 
'em." 

Bill  pondered  the  matter  for  a  time  before 
he  spoke.  "Thet's  'bout  the  same  fix  we're 
in,"  he  said.  "We  been  givin'  them  Redskins 
the  once-over  right  consider'ble  frequent,  but 
we're  pretty  well  satisfied  it  ain't  them.  An' 
none  o'  the  boys  has  seen  any  strangers  hang- 
in'  'round.  But,"  he  added,  shaking  his  head, 
in  a  mystified  way,  "them  steers  don't  evapor- 
ate! Somebody  is  puttin'  somethin*  over." 

"What  are  y'  goin'  to  do — let  'em  get  away 
with  it,  clean?"  asked  Ross. 

"I  dunno,"  said  Bill,  rolling  a  cigarette.  "I 
thought  I  put  the  fear  o'  God  into  the  hearts 
o'  them  rustlers  some  time  ago,  but  I  guess  I 
hev  bin  kiddin'  myself.  What  are  you  goin' 
to  do?" 

"It's  got  me  guessin',"  answered  Ross.  Then, 
after  a  moment,  he  said:  "How's  all  your 
men?  Be  they  all  right?  Never  had  no  sus- 
picions on  none  of  'em  bein'  in  on  the  job?" 

"The  men  is  as  straight  an  outfit  as  ever 
was  got  together !"  answered  Bill  with  a  little 

121 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

asperity.  "This  here  thing  of  our'n  ain't  no 
inside  job.  How's  yours — know  their  pedi- 
grees an'  all  that?" 

"Same  thing  with  me,"  said  Ross,  "I  got  a 
lot  o'  crackerjacks — honest  and  straight  as 
day — no  chanct  fer  any  leakage  thataway.  I'm 
inclined  to  put  it  up  to  them  Injuns.  Don't  see 
who  else  kin  be  at  the  bottom  of  it." 

Bill  was  silent  for  a  time;  then  he  said, 
"Well,  if 't  ain't  nobody  else,  it  must  be  them," 
and  Bill  smiled,  enigmatically. 

"My  men  says  thet  they's  one  on  'em — a 
boy — hangs  'round  here  a  good  deal,"  said 
Ross,  tentatively. 

"You  needn't  give  him  a  second  thought,  Mr. 
Ross,"  said  Sherwood,  quickly,  in  defense  of 
Injun.  "He  is  nothing  but  a  boy,  and  he  and 
my  son  occupy  themselves  in  a  perfectly  legiti- 
mate way.  Besides,  he  has  very  little  to  do  with 
his  own  people  and  is  seldom  with  the  rest  of 
his  tribe." 

"Well,"  said  Ross,  shaking  his  head,  "I 
wouldn't  put  anything  past  an  Injun.  He  may 

122 


MR.  ROSS  PAYS  A  CALL 

be  givin'  'em  a  lot  o'  useful  information.     If 
he  comes  up  my  way,  he'll  get  short  shrift." 

"I'll  answer  for  him,"  said  Whitey,  butting 
into  the  conversation  with  indignation.  "I'm 
with  him  most  of  the  time,  and  he  hasn't  any 
more  to  do  with  stealing  cattle  than  I  have!" 

Ross  laughed.  "Mebbe  not,  Son,"  he  said. 
"Mebbe  not.  But  I  don't  want  him  'round  my 
place."  Ross  and  his  two  men  rose.  "I  guess 
we'll  be  pullin'  our  freight,"  he  said;  "it's  git- 
tin'  late.  Let  me  know  what  yo'  all  intends  to 
do,  an'  I'm  with  yo'.  In  the  meantime,  I'm 
goin'  to  keep  my  eye  on  them  red  devils — an' 
I  advise  yo'  all  to  do  the  same." 

When  Ross  and  his  men  had  ridden  out  of, 
the  ranch  yard  and  were  well  down  the  road, 
Bill  Jordan  looked  quizzically  at  Mr.  Sherwood, 
who  gave  back  an  answering  look  of  inquiry. 

"What  do  yo'  make  o'  all  this?"  Bill  asked. 

:"I  don't  quite  know,"  said  Mr.  Sherwood. 
"Have  you  got  any  solution?  I  didn't  know 
that  there  was  any  significance  in  the  call 
other  than  appeared  on  the  surface — to  warn  us 
against  the  Indians." 

123 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

"Well,"  said  Bill,  slowly,  "I  dunno  as  the' 
is — 'cept  thet  ol'  bird  knows  't  ain't  them  In- 
juns thet's  gettin'  away  with  his  stock — per- 
vidin'  anybody  is  gettin'  azuay  with  it." 

"Do  you  mean  that  he's  lying  about  it?" 
asked  Mr.  Sherwood  in  a  surprised  way. 

"Well,"  said  Bill,  smiling,  "I  dunno  's  I'd 
want  t'  say  jest  thet,  but  I  do  say  thet  him  an' 
Anannias  is  blood  kin — proba'ly  full  brothers ! 
He  was  boostin'  the  men  in  his  outfit  jes'  now, 
wasn't  he  ?  Well,  I  know  personal,  thet  the  tall 
galoot  he  hed  with  him  done  time  in  San 
Quentin.  He's  named  an'  denominated  as  'One- 
Card'  Tucker  an'  he's  one  bad  egg!  The's 
some  o'  the  rest  of  'em  thet  wont  assay  up  very 
good.  Our  boys  wont  hev  nuthin'  to  do  with 
'em — the's  a  few  Greasers  an'  half-breeds 
mixed  in  with  'em." 

"You  couldn't  be  mistaken  about  the  tall 
man  being  a  jail-bird,  could  you,  Bill?"  asked 
Mr.  Sherwood.  And  then,  smiling,  he  added, 
"How  do  you  know — were  you  there  with 
him?" 

Bill  laughed.  "I  was,"  he  said.  "I  ain't 
124 


MR.  ROSS  PAYS  A  CALL 

mistaken — I  brung  him  there  an'  handed  him 
over — when  I  was  Dep'ty  Shur'ff,  out  San 
Diego  way.  He  done  got  a  lot  o'  somebody 
else's  sheep  mixed  up  with  his'n.  He  was  one 
lucky  guy  to  get  off  with  four  years  in  prison — 
'Judge  Lynch'  come  near  settin'  on  the  case. 
Oh,  I  know  him,  all  right,"  said  Bill,  "an'  I 
reckon  he  must  of  knowed  me!  I  noticed  he 
wasn't  exactly  easy  in  his  mind  when  he  set 
there  jes'  now.  An'  I  think  I  know  this  Ross, 
too." 

"Humph!"  said  Sherwood,  reflectively,  "that 
kind  of  association  doesn't  speak  very  well  for 
Mr.  Ross  anyway.  What  do  you  think  we  bet- 
ter do?  I  understand  that  our  man  Walker 
reports  that  he  came  across  a  place  where  a 
bunch  of  our  cattle  had  been  stampeded.  He 
followed  the  trail,  but  lost  it  at  the  creek — 
couldn't  pick  it  up  anywhere.  I  don't  suppose 
it  could  have  been  a  grizzly  ?"  he  asked. 

"Grizzly,  nuthin' !"  said  Bill.     "It  had  been 

rainin'  shortly  before  the  cattle  was  drove  off, 

an'  the'  was  no  sign  of  a  grizzly's  tracks — I 

rode  out  there  an'  seen  it  myself,"  said  Bill 

125 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

with  positiveness.  Then  he  added :  "But  the' 
was  horses'  hoofs !  I  ain't  heard  of  no  grizzlies 
wearin'  iron  shoes — not  this  summer,  I  ain't! 
Besides,  if  they  was  stampeded,  they'd  of  scat- 
tered more.  Them  beeves  kep'  together — they 
was  drove !" 

"And  you  think "  Mr.  Sherwood  paused, 

and  Bill  nodded  his  head: 

"Jest  a  plain  case  o'  rustlin' — nuthin'  else  to 
it !"  and  Bill  spat  disgustedly. 

There  was  a  silence  for  a  moment  or  so 
while  the  two  men  pondered  the  matter,  and 
Whitey  waited  almost  breathlessly  for  what 
would  follow.  Here  was  a  mystery — a  vital 
ranch  mystery — and  he  was  in  the  thick  of  it ! 
He  had  tried  to  imagine  the  situation,  many 
times,  when  he  had  read  of  such  things  in 
books;  and  now  he  was  face  to  face  with  it. 
Suddenly  the  thought  came  to  him  that  here 
was  something  for  him  to  solve,  and  he  in- 
stantly determined  that  he  would  take  a  hand 
in  the  game — though  he  was  wise  enough  (or, 
perhaps  foolish  enough)  to  keep  this  determina- 
tion to  himself.  He  knew  that  once  he 
126 


MR.  PvOSS  PAYS  A  CALL 

broached  the  subject  to  his  father,  he  would  re- 
ceive positive  orders  to  keep  his  hands  off ;  but, 
in  the  absence  of  those  orders,  he  intended  to 
"mix  in."  In  that  way,  he  was  going  to  justify 
himself  in  his  own  mind! 

Finally  Mr.  Sherwood  broke  the  silence: 
"Does  the  creek  run  near  Ross's  ranch?"  he 
asked. 

"No,"  said  Jordan,  "it's  quite  a  ways  from 
his  line.  His  ranch  is  way  down  on  the  Elk- 
horn — this  is  a  branch  thet  empties  into  the 
Elkhorn  a  few  miles  below  where  we  lost  the 
trail.  It's  too  deep  there  fer  cattle  to  ford; 
besides,  there  wasn't  no  place  on  the  opposite 
bank  where  we  found  they'd  come  out — not 
fer  two  er  three  mile  down — where  she  emp- 
ties into  the  Elkhorn.  We  went  over  the  hull 
ground  careful." 

"Do  you  think  they  could  have  been 
drowned ?"  asked  Sherwood.  "If  they  went  in- 
to the  river  and  didn't  come  out,  that  would 
seem  to  be  the  only  alternative,"  he  added. 

"Mebbe!"  said  Jordan,  enigmatically.  The 
two  men  rose  and  walked  toward  the  corral, 
127 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

much  to  Whitey's  disgust.  And  though  he 
tried  to  follow  and  hear  the  rest,  he  was  not 
able  to  do  so.  But  strong  in  his  bosom  the 
mystery  burned,  and  more  than  ever  he  was 
determined  to  conduct  an  independent  investi- 
gation, taking  Injun,  of  course,  into  partner- 
ship. 


128 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  LOST  TRAIL 

WHITEY  did  not  have  long  to  wait  for  the 
opportunity  to  put  the  matter  up  to  Injun,  for 
that  individual  rode  into  the  ranch  yard  within 
ten  minutes  after  the  conversation  that  had 
awakened  Whitey's  curiosity.  It  took  five  ad- 
ditional minutes  for  Whitey  to  retail  to  Injun 
what  he  had  heard,  and,  as  usual,  Injun  thought 
gravely  over  the  matter  before  speaking.  In 
fact,  it  was  Whitey  who  again  broke  the  silence. 

"Injun,"  he  said,  "do  you  think  you  could 
find  the  place  where  Bill  lost  the  trail  of  the 
cattle  at  the  creek,  and  the  place  where  it 
looked  as  though  they  had  stampeded?" 

Injun  nodded  confidently.  It  must  not  be 
imagined  that  because  Injun  seldom  spoke,  or 
because  of  his  broken  English  when  he  did 
129 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

speak,  that  he  could  not  understand  what  was 
said.  He  could  understand  any  words  in  or- 
dinary usage,  and  there  was  very  little  in  any 
conversation  that  "got  by"  him.  He  not  only 
comprehended  the  words,  but  he  had  a  remark- 
ably well  trained  ear,  and  he  could  catch  and 
distinguish  sounds  that  would  have  been  in- 
audible to  most  people.  There  were  times  when 
his  dinner,  or  even  his  very  life,  depended  on 
this  faculty,  and  there  is  nothing  like  Necessity 
to  develop  the  faculties. 

The  same  Necessity  that  had  developed  In- 
jun's hearing  had  also  developed  his  sight ;  and 
although  Whitey  supposed  that  he  had  as  good 
eyes  as  anybody,  he  found,  after  a  time,  that 
Injun  could  distinguish  objects  that  were  all 
but  invisible  to  him.  What  was  a  mere  speck 
in  the  distance  to  Whitey,  Injun  would  declare 
to  be  a  man  on  horse-back.  And  by  the  time 
that  Whitey  could  recognize  this  to  be  true,  In- 
jun could  tell  who  the  man  was. 

It  is,  after  all,  a  matter  of  training.  Prob- 
ably Whitey's  eyes  were  just  as  good,  in  many 
ways,  as  Injun's ;  but  they  were  not  trained  the 
130 


THE  LOST  TRAIL 


same  way.  For  instance :  when  trailing  a  man 
or  an  animal,  Whitey  could  see  the  broken  twig 
or  the  pressed  down  spear  of  grass  that  marked 
the  trail — after  Injun  had  pointed  it  out  to 
him.  But  he  could  not  detect  it  if  he  went 
over  the  ground  first.  Injun  had  trained  his 
eyes  to  observe  the  most  minute  things,  for 
those  minute  things  told  him  a  story  that  meant 
a  great  deal  to  him;  and  often  very  small 
things  made  big  sign-posts  to  guide  or  regulate 
his  movements.  Possibly  Injun,  had  he  seen 
Whitey  read  rapidly  the  page  of  a  book,  would 
have  thought  Whitey's  eyes  far  more  wonder- 
ful than  his  own — and  that  is  only  another 
kind  of  eye-training.  Nature  was  Injun's 
book,  and,  perhaps,  just  as  easy  to  read  as 
Whitey's  book — but  it  takes  different  eye-train- 
ing. 

The  two  boys  slipped  away  from  the  ranch 
without  attracting  notice.  This  was  not  un- 
usual, for  by  this  time  Whitey  had  become  ac- 
customed to  riding  long  distances,  and  he  and 
Injun  were  permitted  to  go  about  as  they 
pleased.  But  up  to  the  present  time  his  wan- 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

derings  had  been  confined  to  the  ranch  limits. 

A  mile  or  so  from  the  ranch  Injun  broke 
away  from  the  trail  and  struck  off  to  the  north- 
west toward  the  mountains.  The  branch  or 
creek  that  Whitey  had  described  lay  some  seven 
or  eight  miles  further  on,  and  in  the  general 
direction  of  Ross'  ranch ;  and  at  the  steady  clip 
set  by  Injun,  they  made  it  without  much  exer- 
tion in  something  less  than  an  hour.  The 
ride  was  without  incident  until  they  were  a  mile 
or  two  from  the  creek,  though  still  within  the 
confines  of  the  ranch,  when  the  quick  eye  of 
Injun  detected  two  horsemen  riding  in  a  direc- 
tion that  would  bring  them  across  their  trail. 

"Who  are  they?"  asked  Whitey,  when  they 
were  a  long  distance  away.  "Can  you  make 
them  out?" 

"Him  Bar  O,"  said  Injun  confidently. 

Whitey  had  not  figured  on  meeting  men 
from  the  ranch,  who  might  interfere  with  their 
plans,  or,  at  least,  carry  back  the  news  that 
they  had  crossed  the  trail  of  the  boys;  and 
he  suggested  that  they  make  a  detour  that 
would  carry  them  in  such  a  way  that  the  trails 
132 


THE  LOST  TRAIL 


would  not  meet.  The  boys  turned  their  horses 
at  almost  right  angles  and  started  toward  a 
wooded  and  rocky  region  where  they  would  not 
be  so  conspicuous;  but  if  they  thought  to  es- 
cape in  that  way,  they  soon  found  that  they 
were  mistaken.  It  was  evident  that  the  ranch- 
men were  not  to  be  lost  or  thrown  off  the  track, 
and  that  they  proposed  to  find  out  who  was 
riding  in  that  neighborhood.  It  was  either  a 
case  of  run  for  it,  or  stand  and  deliver;  and 
after  some  hesitation  Whitey  determined  that 
the  former  course,  even  if  successful,  would 
alarm  the  ranch,  as  the  supposition  would  be 
that  they  were  rustlers,  and  would  invite  a  gen- 
eral pursuit.  So  the  boys  again  turned  their 
horses  and  continued  in  the  general  direction 
that  they  had  first  taken,  and  it  was  not  long 
before  the  range  riders  came  alongside  of  them. 

"What  are  yo'  two  scalawags  doin'  out 
here?"  asked  Walker,  who  was  one  of  the 
riders  in  that  section.  "Yo'  liable  to  give  us 
heart-disease — we  was  plumb  shore  we  hed 
ketched  a  pair  o'  rus'lers!" 

"We're  just  taking  a  ride,"  said  Whitey,  in- 
133 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

nocently.     "It's  a  fine  day,  isn't  it  ?"  he  added. 

"Yes,"  said  Walker,  dryly,  "it  shore  is  a  fine 
day — if  it  don't  rain.  Does  yo'r  pa  know  yo' 
all  is  gallivantin'  'round  out  here  ?  Where  was 
yo'  all  headin'  for,  anyhow — yo'  an'  Settin' 
Bull,  here?" 

"I  tell  you,  Mr.  Walker,"  said  Whitey,  "we 
were  just  looking  'round  to  see  what  we  could 
see." 

"Oh,  them  kids  is  all  right,  Walker,"  said 
the  other  rider.  "Let  'em  alone.  Thet  there 
little  red  devil  knows  this  here  range  like  I 
know  my  boots.  They  won't  git  into  nuthin'." 

"Mebbe,"  said  Walker,  undecidedly.  "Mebbe 
they  won't — an'  mebbe  they  will.  'Tain't  none 
too  healthy  fer  them  'babes  in  the  wood'  right 
in  these  parts  jes'  now!  Not  to  my  way  o' 
thinkin'  it  ain't.  But,  howsumever,  'tain't 
really  none  o'  my  funeral.  But  lemme  give 
yo'  all  a  tip — keep  away  from  thet  Cross  an' 
Circle  outfit  an'  stay  on  the  range !" 

"Why?"  asked  Whitey,  a  little  impatiently. 
"What  harm  will  it  do  to  go  off  the  range?" 

"Will  y'  listen  to  thet!"  exclaimed  Walker, 
134 


THE  LOST  TRAIL 


laughing.  "Ain't  yer  own  yard  big  enough  fer 
yo'  all  to  play  in?  Looks  to  me  like  't  might 
be !  Anyway,  yo'  jes'  take  my  tip !  An'  as  fer 
yo',  young  Mr.  Rain-in-the-Face,  don't  yo'  let 
this  here  kid  git  into  no  mischief,  er  Bill  Jor- 
dan'll  cut  off  them  two  ears  o'  your'n  an'  sic 
the  coyotes  onto  yo' !" 

With  this  parting  injunction,  the  two  riders 
turned  their  horses  and  rode  away;  but  it  was 
plain  that  Walker  was  not  altogether  satisfied 
with  the  situation;  and  more  than  once  he 
looked  back  at  the  boys  as  the  distance  between 
them  increased. 

Whitey  was  not  the  kind  of  a  boy  to  be 
turned  from  his  purpose  by  any  such  admoni- 
tion as  this.  In  fact,  the  scent  of  some  possible 
danger  only  added  zest  to  the  matter ;  and  the 
two  boys  rode  forward  toward  the  creek  with 
an  increased  appetite  for  the  business  in  hand. 

Within  a  few  moments  the  boys  came  to  the 
edge  of  the  branch  or  creek  that  marked  the 
confines  of  the  Bar  O  ranch.  The  banks  were, 
except  at  intervals,  steep  and  high — some  six 
or  eight  feet  above  the  water — and  it  was 
135 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

manifestly  improbable  that  the  cattle  had  taken 
to  the  water  from  the  top  of  the  bank.  Injun, 
therefore,  followed  the  stream  down;  and  some 
half-mile  below  where  they  had  come  upon 
the  creek,  they  found  a  place  where  the  bank 
sloped  gradually  down  to  the  water's  edge. 

Injun  dismounted  and  examined  the  ground 
closely,  Whitey  following,  but  not  able  to  see 
anything  more  than  that  it  had  been  some- 
what trampled.  Injun,  however,  saw  a  good 
deal  more  than  that.  He  pointed  out  the  fact 
that  on  the  two  outer  edges  there  were  marks 
of  horses'  hoofs;  while  in  the  middle  of  the 
trampled  course  leading  to  the  river,  the  cloven 
hoofs  of  the  cattle  were  visible — not  plainly, 
but  after  Injun  had  outlined  several  of  them 
with  his  ringer,  Whitey  could  make  them  out. 

"Bill  was  right,  then?"  asked  Whitey,  ex- 
citedly; "the  cattle  were  driven  and  kept  close 
together?" 

Injun  nodded,  and  proceeded  with  his  in- 
vestigations. Leading  his  pinto  and  looking 
closely  at  the  ground  and  the  surrounding  grass 
and  bushes,  he  followed  the  trail  back  from  the 
136 


THE  LOST  TRAIL 


creek.  Some  distance  from  the  bank  the  boys 
came  upon  a  place  where  the  ground  was  bare 
and  somewhat  softer  than  that  near  the  water, 
and  this  spot  Injun  examined  minutely,  crawl- 
ing on  his  hands  and  knees  and  measuring  the 
horses'  hoof-prints  carefully  with  one  of  his 
arrows.  At  length  he  rose  as  though  appar- 
ently satisfied. 

Although  Walker  and  Bill  Jordan  had  rid- 
den over  the  ground,  their  horses  had  left  no 
traces  that  confused  the  other  marks;  for  by 
this  time  the  ground  was  hard  and  dry,  while 
at  the  time  of  the  stampede  it  had  been  wet. 
Whitey  looked  at  Injun  inquiringly.  "Four 
hoss,"  said  Injun,  holding  up  four  fingers. 

"And  how  many  cattle?"  asked  Whitey,  anx- 
iously. 

Injun  shrugged  his  shoulders  and  shook  his 
head.  "Dunno,"  he  said,  frankly;  "Mebbe 
'lev'n  ten." 

"And  could  you  tell  the  horses  if  you  saw 
their  hoofs  again?"  asked  Whitey,  the  Sher- 
lock Holmes  instinct  stirring  within  him. 

"Tell  two,"  said  Injun,  holding  up  two  fin- 
137 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

gers ;  and  then,  in  response  to  Whitey's  inquiry 
as  to  how  he  could  do  this,  Injun  pointed  out 
certain  slight  peculiarities  in  the  hoof-prints 
that  were  plainly  discernible  on  a  minute  ex- 
amination. Whitey  was  delighted  at  this  ex- 
hibition, and  he  noted  well  the  peculiarities 
for  future  reference. 

Injun  even  went  a  little  further  than  that. 
Two  of  the  hoof-prints  were  very  plainly 
marked;  and  taking  some  flat  stones,  he  ar- 
ranged them  in  such  a  manner  as  to  cover  and 
preserve  the  impressions  of  the  hoofs  in  the 
ground  and  yet  at  the  same  time  were  not  par- 
ticularly noticeable. 

Not  satisfied  with  this,  Injun  then  proceeded 
to  search  for  a  marked  peculiarity  among  the 
cloven  hoof-prints;  and  succeeded  in  finding 
one  in  which  there  was  an  unmistakable  dis- 
simularity.  The  right  forefoot  of  one  of  the 
cattle  showed  an  unusual  deformity,  being  so 
split  as  to  give  the  impression  of  toes.  This 
print  Injun  covered  in  the  same  manner.  In- 
jun had  never  heard  of  the  Bertillon  finger- 
print system,  but  he  had  common  sense. 

138 


The  keen  eye  of  Injun  detected  another  thing 


THE  LOST  TRAIL 


Having  followed  the  trail  back  to  the  point 
where  the  animals  were  separated  from  the  rest 
of  the  herd,  nothing  new  in  the  way  of  foot- 
prints was  found,  the  nature  of  the  soil  and 
its  thick  carpet  of  grass  making  any  discovery 
difficult.  In  fact,  most  of  the  marks  were 
almost  obliterated. 

But  the  keen  eye  of  Injun  detected  another 
thing,  seemingly  slight,  but  really  of  the  ut- 
most importance  in  the  last  analysis.  On  one 
of  the  tough  branches  of  a  small,  thorny  bush, 
there  hung  several  woolen  threads  of  varie- 
gated colors ;  threads  not  more  than  an  inch  or 
two  in  length,  that  had  apparently  been  torn 
from  a  piece  of  cloth  by  being  caught  by  the 
tough  thorny  branch.  An  examination  of  the 
ground  near  the  bush,  which  was  fortunately 
soft,  showed  that  the  heel-mark  of  a  man's  boot 
was  plainly  discernible,  and  also  the  four  hoof- 
prints  of  a  horse.  The  heel  of  the  boot  had 
been  pressed  into  the  ground  to  a  more  than 
ordinary  depth,  and  the  hoof-prints  of  the 
horse  were  on  each  side  of  it.  Injun  pointed 
139 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

this  out  to  Whitey  with  some  evidence  of  satis- 
faction, but  it  meant  nothing  to  Whitey. 

"What  about  it?"  he  asked;  "what  hap- 
pened here?" 

"Him  loose  latigo"  said  Injun.  "Pull  'em 
tight,"  and  Injun  illustrated  how  a  man 
would  dig  his  heel  into  the  ground  as  he 
had  exerted  a  powerful  pull  at  a  saddle-cinch. 
Injun  leaned  back  as  he  made  the  imaginary 
pull,  and  the  thorny  branch  of  the  bush  swept 
his  side  and  caught  slightly  in  his  shirt.  It 
was  all  plain  to  Whitey  now. 

"Say !"  he  exclaimed,  in  undisguised  admira- 
tion, "Sherlock  Holmes  has  nothing  on  you! 
He  never  doped  out  anything  better  'n  that!" 

Injun  looked  blankly  at  him,  never  having 
heard  of  Sherlock  Holmes ;  but  Whitey's  man- 
ner was  unmistakably  complimentary,  and  so 
Injun  let  it  go  at  that.  Whitey  was  about  to 
take  the  threads  from  the  branch,  but  Injun 
stopped  him.  He  broke  the  branch  that  held 
the  threads  from  the  bush,  carefully  peeling  the 
bark  for  several  inches  down  the  stem,  and  put 
it  into  his  quiver.  Then  he  marked  the  bush 
140 


THE  LOST  TRAIL 


and  the  spot  so  that  he  could  easily  recognize 
them  again.  Then  the  two  boys  mounted  their 
horses  and  rode  back  over  the  trail  toward  the 
creek,  which  was  rocky  and  shallow,  and  could 
be  easily  forded  without  swimming. 

When  the  boys  arrived  at  the  creek,  having" 
retraced  the  trail  without  incident,  although 
it  was  well  past  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon, 
Whitey  and  Injun  had  no  thought  of  abandon- 
ing their  quest.  After  a  consultation,  they 
proceeded  to  cross  to  the  other  side  of  the  creek 
and  to  examine  the  other  bank  in  the  hope  that 
Injun's  keen  vision  would  be  able  to  discern 
things  that  Bill  and  his  men  had  missed.  They 
followed  the  course  of  the  stream  down  to 
where  it  emptied  into  the  Elkhorn,  a  distance  of 
perhaps  a  mile  and  a  half;  but,  though  Injun 
dismounted  several  times  and  scrutinized  the 
ground  carefully,  there  were  no  signs  that  cat- 
tle had  landed  anywhere  along  the  route. 

Whitey  was  puzzled.  Arguing  on  the  princi- 
ple that  "what  goes  up  must  come  down,"  and 
"what  goes  in  must  come  out,  or  stay  there," 
Whitey  said : 

141 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

"If  the  cattle  went  into  the  creek,  they  must 
have  come  out  somewhere;  or  else,"  he  added, 
after  a  moment,  "they  must  be  in  it  yet." 

This  admitted  of  no  discussion,  and  Injun 
did  not  attempt  to  refute  it.  It  did  not  seem 
probable  that  the  cattle  were  still  in  the  creek, 
and  it  seemed  hardly  possible  that  the  cattle 
could  have  gone  into  the  creek,  swum  all  the 
way  down  to  the  Elkhorn,  and  then  continued 
down  the  larger  stream — but  there  appeared 
to  be  no  other  alternative;  and  Whitey  deter- 
mined to  investigate  even  such  an  improbable 
thing  as  that. 

In  one  way,  Whitey  was  in  command  of  the 
expedition,  and  Injun  readily  complied  with 
any  plan  of  campaign  that  he  suggested.  The 
details  of  the  investigation  and  the  deductions 
drawn  from  them  were  in  Injun's  hands,  and 
very  capable  hands  they  were,  too. 

Accordingly  it  was  agreed  that  Injun  should 
swim  to  the  left  bank  of  the  Elkhorn  and 
follow  it  down,  while  Whitey  followed  the 
right  bank,  keeping:  as  nearly  parallel  as  pos- 
sible. The  Elkhorn  was  not  more  than  a  hun- 
142 


THE  LOST  TRAIL 


dred  yards  wide,  and  the  two  boys  could  call 
to  each  other  easily  and  communicate  any  finds 
that  either  made.  This  they  proceeded  to  do. 

The  investigation  was  greatly  simplified,  at 
least  on  Whitey's  side,  by  the  fact  that  the 
bank  of  the  Elkhorn  offered  very  few  possible 
landing-places,  being  high  and  steep,  and  there 
were  few  places  that  needed  examination  at  all. 
On  Injun's  side,  however,  the  ground  required 
more  careful  scrutiny;  but  on  neither  side  did 
anything  develop.  And  before  they  were  aware, 
they  were  almost  at  the  Ross  ranch. 

The  ranch  lay  just  around  a  bend  in  the 
Elkhorn,  on  the  left  bank,  and  where  the  river 
was  indented  by  a  small  bight,  or  pointed  bay, 
that  extended  for  several  yards  into  the  ranch 
property.  The  left  bank  of  this  bight  was 
high  above  the  water,  and  thickly  covered  by 
vines  and  shrubs  that  grew  down  to  the  water's 
edge,  and  many  of  them  overhung  the  water, 
which  was  shallow  at  that  point. 

Once  the  boys  were  in  sight  of  the  ranch,  the 
cautiousness  of  Injun  manifested  itself.  He 
knew  that  the  Ross  outfit  were  none  too  par- 
143 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

tial  to  him,  and  he  also  knew  that  it  would 
be  unwise,  if  not  unsafe,  for  him  to  be  found 
so  near  to  it.  And  riding  down  into  the  water, 
where  the  high  bank  concealed  him  from  view, 
he  rode  cautiously  around  the  bend  of  the 
bayou.  Whitey,  on  the  opposite  bank,  watched 
Injun's  movements  closely;  and  finally,  in  re- 
sponse to  a  signal,  swam  his  horse  across  and 
landed  under  the  high  bank  near  Injun,  whom 
he  found  examining  the  narrow  shore  or  beach 
of  the  bayou  under  the  high  bank.  The  sur- 
face of  the  ground,  which  was  sandy  and  cov- 
ered with  pebbles,  had  been  undoubtedly  dis- 
turbed recently;  but  it  was  seemingly  impos- 
sible to  tell  by  what.  There  were  deep  marks  as 
though  heavy  planks  had  been  pushed  against 
it,  and  the  ground  about  showed  the  hoof- 
marks  of  horses.  These  also  were  discernible 
in  the  mud  under  the  shallow  water.  On  the 
small  beach  it  looked  as  though  an  attempt  had 
been  made  to  obliterate  these  marks,  for  the 
sand  showed  evidences  of  having  been  recently 
turned  over  in  places. 

Dismounting  from  his  horse,  Injun  pulled 
144 


THE  LOST  TRAIL 


aside  the  branches  and  bushes  but  nothing  was 
revealed  save  the  flat,  gray  face  of  the  rock  of 
the  bank.  Injun  looked  keenly  at  this  for  a 
moment ;  and  then  putting  out  his  hand,  found 
that  it  yielded  to  his  touch!  The  rock  wasn't 
rock  at  all !  And  going  to  one  side,  he  found 
that  what  seemed  to  be  rock  was  nothing  more 
nor  less  than  a  heavy  canvas,  painted  a  dark 
gray  to  resemble  rock,  and  smeared  with  mud 
and  pieces  of  grass  and  leaves!  So  skillfully 
was  this  done,  that  it  required  close  scrutiny 
to  reveal  it;  and  from  a  distance,  even  of  ten 
or  fifteen  feet,  it  would  never  have  awakened 
the  slightest  suspicion! 

Lifting  the  edge  of  the  canvas,  Injun  dis- 
closed an  opening  in  the  face  of  the  cliff  nearly 
six  feet  high  and  of  about  the  same  breadth, 
and  into  this  the  two  boys  crept  cautiously, 
leaving  their  horses  on  the  narrow  strip  of 
beach  near  the  entrance. 

The  interior  of  the  cavern  or  tunnel  was 

quite  dark;  but  Whitey  had  been  in  the  West 

long  enough  to  learn  that  one  of  the  most 

necessary  things  in  a  plainsman's  equipment 

'145 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

is  matches.  Injun,  of  course,  had  his  flint  and 
steel  and  tinder,  but  they  would  have  neces- 
sitated the  lighting  of  a  torch,  which  would 
have  been  dangerous  on  account  of  the  chance 
of  discovery.  They  proceeded  slowly  along  the 
tunnel,  Injun  examining  it  carefully,  and  a  few 
yards  from  the  entrance  they  found  a  number 
of  very  heavy  planks  so  fashioned  that  they 
could  be  linked  together  to  form  a  rude  raft. 
The  logs  were  wet  and  water-soaked.  And  the 
mystery  of  how  the  cattle  got  out  of  the  river 
was  no  longer  a  mystery! 

Whitey's  first  idea  was,  that  having  discov- 
ered this  much,  and  thus  definitely  fixing  the 
manner  and  means  of  the  disappearance  of  the 
cattle,  it  would  be  a  good  thing  to  make  a  get- 
away while  there  was  yet  time,  and  report  their 
discoveries  to  the  Bar  O  outfit;  and  it  would 
have  been  well  for  him  if  he  had  followed  this 
plan.  But  Whitey  was  nothing  if  not  coura- 
geous, and  he  was  also  impelled  by  an  intense 
curiosity  to  fathom  the  rest  of  the  mystery.  If 
he  could  locate  and  identify  the  lost  cattle, 
which  would  be  easy  on  account  of  the  brand, 
146 


THE  LOST  TRAIL 


and  possibly  the  one  with  the  deformed  hoof 
would  be  among  them,  his  investigations  would 
then  be  complete.  But  unfortunately  for  the 
success  of  this  plan,  there  were  certain  difficul- 
ties in  the  way  which  neither  Whitey  nor  Injun 
could  foresee;  and  certain  contingencies  hap- 
pened which  had  their  fortunate  side  as  well  as 
their  unfortunate. 

The  two  horses  had  been  left  untied  on  the 
narrow  strip  of  beach  outside  the  tunnel 
entrance.  Left  alone,  Injun's  cayuse  would 
have  stood  there  for  many  hours.  But  Whitey's 
horse,  Monty,  was  not,  as  yet,  so  well  trained ; 
and  after  a  time  began  to  be  restless.  The  spot 
was  not  exactly  an  attractive  one  in  which  to 
stand  for  an  indefinite  time,  and  Monty  finally 
retraced  his  steps  around  the  bend  and  out  of 
the  bayou  where  there  were  grass  and  sunshine. 
With  such  an  example,  the  pinto  slowly  fol- 
lowed ;  but  scarcely  had  Monty  come  around  the 
bend  when  a  rattler  that  was  sunning  himself 
on  the  rocks  sounded  his  warning,  and  Monty 
gave  a  frightened  snort  and  proceeded  to  "beat 
it"  away  from  there  in  a  panic. 
147 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

When  a  horse  is  badly  frightened  and  starts 
to  run  in  a  panic,  the  first  thought  that  comes 
into  his  head  is  to  get  home  as  fast  as  he 
can ;  and  Monty  proceeded  to  put  this  idea  into 
execution.  He  tore  along  the  bank,  and  at  the 
proper  place  swam  the  stream,  and  was  soon 
well  on  his  way  back  toward  the  Bar  O  ranch 

By  the  time  Injun's  horse  got  around  the 
bend  the  rattler  had  disappeared,  and  there- 
fore he  was  not  thrown  into  any  panic,  as 
Monty  had  been.  Monty  was  not  in  sight 
either ;  and  so,  although  he  probably  wondered 
what  had  become  of  his  pal,  he  climbed  the 
bank  and  proceeded  to  graze  on  the  sweet  grass', 
plainly  visible  from  the  windows  of  the  Ross 
ranch ! 

Meanwhile,  the  two  boys  went  cautiously 
along  further  into  the  tunnel,  which  appeared 
to  be  of  natural  origin,  as  though  a  stream 
had  eaten  its  way  through  the  porous  rock  in 
search  of  an  outlet — a  sort  of  natural  drain. 
The  hole,  originally  small,  had  been  enlarged 
by  digging  up  to  its  present  size.  There  was  a 
continual  rise  in  the  floor  of  the  tunnel  as  it 
148 


THE  LOST  TRAIL 


receded  from  the  water,  and  the  floor  of  it 
was  wet  with  a  very  small  stream  trickling 
down  toward  the  entrance. 

The  boys  had  proceeded  perhaps  a  hundred 
feet  from  the  entrance,  when  they  came  upon 
a  sudden  enlargement  in  the  tunnel  which  took 
almost  the  form  of  a  large  room.  The  top  or 
ceiling  was  so  high  as  to  be  invisible  to  them, 
and  the  place  itself  was  evidently  a  natural 
cavern.  Whitey  lighted  a  match,  and  its  flare 
disclosed  the  fact  that  the  chamber  was  some 
twenty-five  or  thirty  feet  across,  and  in  it, 
among  other  things,  were  several  large  bar- 
rels and  packing-cases. 

As  the  boys  started  to  cross  the  room,  keep- 
ing a  little  to  the  side,  the  match  went  out  and 
they  were  again  enveloped  in  darkness  so  thick 
that  they  could  feel  it.  Whitey  was  about  to 
scratch  another  match,  but  he  felt  Injun's  hand 
clutch  his  arm  and  draw  him  still  further 
toward  the  side  of  the  chamber.  Whitey  had 
heard  nothing,  and  knew  of  no  reason  for  this  ; 
but  he  was  quite  willing  to  be  guided  by  Injun's 
superior  senses. 

149 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

In  a  few  seconds,  however,  he  heard  foot- 
steps coming  toward  them  from  the  upper  end 
of  the  chamber,  and  caught  a  faint  glimmer  of 
light.  Injun  hastily  and  noiselessly  pulled 
"Whitey  toward  one  of  the  boxes  that  were  scat- 
tered about  that  side  of  the  chamber,  and  be- 
hind this  the  two  boys  crouched  as  the  sound 
of  the  footsteps  indicated  that  some  one  was 
coming  in  their  direction.  Whitey's  heart  wa§ 
beating  so  loud  that  he  felt  sure  that  any  one 
who  came  near  him  must  surely  hear  it.  A  mo- 
ment afterward  this  was  probably  true  in  In- 
jun's case,  also — and  for  a  good  reason! 

Into  the  far  end  of  the  chamber  came  the 
light  of  a  lantern,  and  as  it  illuminated  the 
space  about  the  man  who  carried  it,  Whitey 
could  see  that  he  was  dark-haired  and  swarthy, 
though  rather  under-sized,  but  very  wiry.  He 
was  clad  in  a  multi-colored  Mackinaw  jacket, 
with  the  regulation  cowman's  trousers  and 
boots,  with  his  revolver  in  the  holster  at  his 
side.  The  man  came  directly  toward  the  boys 
and  Whitey  instinctively  grasped  the  handle 
of  the  little  pearl-handled  .22  that  Atherton 


THE  LOST  TRAIL 


had  given  him  and  which  he  had  always  car- 
ried in  the  hip-pocket  of  his  trousers.  True, 
he  had  his  rifle  with  him;  but  he  felt  that 
at  close  quarters  the  revolver  would  be  more 
valuable.  (Even  a  .22  fired  at  close  range  can 
be  annoying;  besides,  he  might  throw  it  at  the 
man  and  do  more  damage  than  if  he  shot  him 
with  it!) 

The  man  came  directly  to  the  box  behind 
which  the  two  boys  were  hidden  and  it  seemed 
as  though  discovery  was  inevitable;  had  he 
lifted  the  lantern  high,  it  could  not  have  been 
avoided.  But  he  placed  it  onto  the  floor  and 
reached  down  into  the  box  and  took  out  several 
objects  which  the  boys  afterward  saw  to  be 
bottles  of  liquor  of  some  kind.  He  was  so 
close  that  either  Injun  or  Whitey  could  have 
put  out  a  hand  and  touched  him,  and  they  could 
hear  his  heavy  breathing,  for  plainly  he  was 
partially  drunk.  Each  of  the  boys  held  himself 
tense,  and  was  ready  for  a  vigorous  defense, 
and  against  the  knife  that  Injun  gripped  in  his 
hand,  to  say  nothing  of  the  popgun  that  Whitey 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

held,  the  man,  unprepared  as  he  was,  would 
probably  have  fared  badly. 

But  at  length,  when  he  had  taken  out  several 
bottles,  he  picked  up  the  lantern  from  the  floor 
'and  started  to  retrace  his  steps.  Suddenly  he 
stopped  and  came  back  near  to  the  box.  Setting 
down  the  bottles,  he  picked  up  one  of  the 
burned  matches  that  Whitey  had  thrown  on 
the  floor  of  the  chamber  and  examined  it  care- 
fully. Again  the  boys  held  their  breath,  and 
Whitey  upbraided  himself  for  his  carelessness. 
After  examining  the  match  for  a  moment  or 
two,  the  man  took  up  the  lantern  and  looked 
about  the  chamber.  He  started  as  though  to 
go  out  toward  the  entrance,  but  thought 
better  of  it;  and  after  another  cursory  look 
about  him,  he  went  away  as  he  had  come.  The 
sound  of  his  foot-falls  became  fainter  and 
fainter;  the  light  from  the  lantern  grew  dim- 
mer and  dimmer;  and  at  last,  the  foot- falls  died 
away  entirely,  and  complete  darkness  enveloped 
them  again.  For  a  moment  they  crouched  in 
silence;  then  Whitey  felt  Injun's  hand  grasp 
his  arm,  and  heard  Injun  whisper  into  his  ear : 

"Him  Pedro!"  he  said. 
152 


CHAPTER  XIVj 

CROWLEY 

IN  the  living  room  of  the  Ross  ranch  were 
congregated  almost  the  entire  outfit.  Around 
the  centre-table  a  game  of  cards  was  in  prog- 
ress, and  the  fortunes  of  the  game  had  reduced 
the  number  engaged  in  it  to  four.  Some  six  or 
seven  of  the  other  men  either  looked  on  or 
were  sprawled  about  the  place  in  various  stages 
of  intoxication ;  and  the  number  of  empty  bot- 
tles that  littered  the  place  gave  evidence  that 
it  had  been  quite  a  long  session. 

Ross  was  at  the  table,  and  the  big  stack  of 
chips  in  front  of  him  indicated  that  he  was 
the  big  winner.  His  shirt  was  open  half  way 
down  to  his  waist  and  his  broad,  hairy  chest 
was  exposed.  His  sleeves  were  rolled  up  to  his 
elbows,  and  if  anything,  his  hair  and  beard 
153 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

were  more  unkempt  than  usual,  which  is  saying 
a  good  deal.  Altogether,  with  his  bloated  face 
and  bleary  eyes,  he  did  not  make  a  very  pleasant 
picture. 

Crowley,  his  foreman,  the  tall  man  whom 
Jordan  had  recognized  as  the  "jail-bird"  that 
he  had  delivered  at  San  Quentin,  sat  opposite 
to  Ross,  and  he,  too,  had  considerable  money  in 
front  of  him.  The  other  two  men  in  the  game 
were  about  "down  to  the  cloth,"  and  were  just 
"hanging  on  the  ragged  edge  of  nothing."  As 
Pedro  entered  the  room  with  the  bottles,  Crow- 
ley  raked  in  a  sizable  pot,  getting  a  call  from 
one  of  the  losers. 

"Jes'  like  takin'  candy  from  children," 
sneered  Crowley,  as  he  looked  at  the  two  con- 
temptuously. "Yo'  pikers  is  'bout  six  ounces 
lighter'n  a  straw  hat!  Where  'd  yo'  all  learn 
this  game,  anyway?" 

"I  guess  the  school  I  learnt  at,"  said  one  of 
the  men,  significantly,  "was  some  short  o' 
knowin'  some  o'  the  sleight-o-hand  work  I  done 
seen  yo'  pull !  Dealin'  seconds  wasn't  on  the 
bill-o'-fare!" 

154 


CROWLEY 


For  an  answer,  Crowley  grabbed  a  bottle  and 
was  about  to  caress  the  man  with  it  when  Ross 
reached  over  and  seized  his  arm  in  a  powerful 

grip- 

"Cut  it  out!"  shouted  Ross;  "I'm  short- 
handed  now,  an'  besides  I  don't  want  to  hev  to 
explain  no  more  disappearances !" 

"Let  the  big  stiff  throw  it,  Ross!  I'll  give 
him  a  receipt  fer  it — I  got  an  ace  in  the  hole 
myself  this  time,"  and  he  fingered  the  butt  o£ 
his  revolver. 

Whether  the  affair  would  have  stopped  there 
or  not  is  a  question,  had  not  Pedro  entered 
with  the  bottles;  but,  at  any  rate,  the  two  bel- 
ligerents subsided,  and  confined  themselves  to 
growls  and  evil  glances  at  each  other.  In  a 
few  moments  the  game  seemed  about  to  break 
up — and  Ross  had  accumulated  most  of  the 
money ;  and  what  he  did  not  win  fell  to  the  lot 
of  Crowley,  the  foreman.  One  way  to  run  a 
ranch  is  to  pay  off  the  men  and  then  win  the 
money  back  at  stud-poker ! 

Ross  rose  from  the  table,  after  he  had  cashed 
in  the  checks  of  the  foreman  and  had  pocketed 
155 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

his  own  winnings.  As  he  stood  up,  his  eyes 
caught  sight  of  Injun's  pinto  cropping  the 
grass  in  the  yard  of  the  ranch  near  to  the 
river  bank.  Ross  stared  intently  at  the  horse, 
and  several  of  the  men  followed  his  glance. 

"What  hoss  is  that  out  there  ?  Who  let  him 
out  'n  the  corral  ?  Some  o'  yo'  rum-hounds  go 
git  him  an'  put  him  back.  Don't  seem  to  me 
I  recconnize  that  skate  nohow." 

One  of  the  men  rose  and  went  out  to  the 
pinto,  and  after  some  trouble  succeeded  in 
catching  him.  The  man  examined  the  horse, 
and  then  started  toward  the  ranch  house  with 
him.  The  man's  manner  indicated  that  some- 
thing was  amiss,  and  Ross  and  Crowley  went 
out  to  meet  him. 

"This  here  ain't  none  of  our  hoss,"  said  the 
man,  looking  at  the  animal  critically.  "Looks 
to  me  like  the  one  I  seen  that  little  red  skunk 
ridin'  with  thet  there  Sherwood  kid.  'Spose 
them  young  hellions  bin  snoopin'  'bout  here?" 

Ross  uttered  an  oath,  and  Crowley  examined 
the  horse:  "The'  ain't  no  doubt  in  th'  world 
thet's  thet  little  red  devil's  hoss.  But  I  don't 
156 


CROWLEY 


figger  no  cause  t'  git  excited.  He  goes  mean- 
derm'  'round  most  any  place,  though  I  never 
knowed  him  to  stick  his  nose  in  'round  here 
before.  The'  ain't  no  chanct  of  his  gittin'  into 
the  ranch  house — not  in  a  thousand  years ;  an' 
if  he's  'round  here,  he's  got  a  hell  of  a  walk 
back  to  where  he  belongs!  Hey!  You!"  he 
called  to  the  men  in  the  ranch  house ;  and  they 
came  out  slowly  and  indifferently ;  "take  a  look 
'round  an'  see  if  yo'  kin  find  hide  er  hair  o' 
thet  little  red  varmint.  Thet's  his  hoss,  an' 
he  can't  be  far  off.  When  yo'  git  him,  bring 
him  to  me — I'll  make  a  'good  Injun'  out'n  him !" 

Several  of  the  men  went  to  the  corral,  and 
mounting  their  horses,  rode  around  the  ranch 
property  in  different  directions.  Ross  turned 
to  Crowley: 

"You  may  not  think  there's  any  cause  to  git 
excited,  but  I  do!  Jes'  now'd  be  an  awkward 
time  fer  people  t'  come  investigatin'  'round 
here.  We  got  t'  git  them  steers  branded  and 
out  o'  this  pronto.  It's  got  to  be  done  to-night ! 
Take  some  o'  the  boys  an'  go  down  an'  git 
157 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

busy.     I'll  be  down  in  a  minute.    This  ought 
V  bin  done  before !" 

Ross  and  his  foreman  turned  and  entered  the 
house ;  and  the  foreman,  designating  several  of 
the  hands  to  follow  him,  started  for  the  stairs 
that  led  to  the  cave  below. 


158 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE  CAVE  GIVES  EVIDENCE 

FOR  several  moments  after  Pedro  had  gone 
out  of  sight  and  hearing,  the  two  boys  remained 
crouched  behind  the  box  in  the  subterranean 
chamber;  it  had  been  an  alarming  experience 
and  they  did  not  recover  from  it  at  once  and 
needed  time  to  take  a  long  breath  and  to  get 
their  disturbed  senses  together.  The  situation 
was  far  more  serious  for  Injun  than  for 
Whitey,  for  there  is  no  doubt  that  if  Pedro 
had  discovered  their  whereabouts,  Injun  would 
have  stood  a  small  chance  of  escaping  with 
his  life,  unless  the  boys  had  taken  the  initiative 
and  killed  or  disabled  Pedro  before  he  got  a 
chance  to  wreak  his  vengeance  on  the  Indian 
boy. 

"Whew!"  whispered  Whitey.  "That  was  a 
159 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

narrow  escape!  If  he'd  seen  us,  I  guess  we'd 
have  had  to  fight!"  Injun  nodded,  but  said 
nothing.  He  knew  full  well  the  danger  he  had 
been  in. 

Pedro  would  have  killed  Injun  with  as  lit- 
tle compunction  as  he  would  have  stepped  on 
a  spider,  and  with  far  greater  satisfaction.  It 
had  been  largely  through  Injun's  efforts  that 
Pedro  had  been  exposed,  and  Pedro  was  not 
the  sort  of  man  that  forgot  or  forgave  a  debt 
of  this  kind.  And  it  is  probable  that  Whitey 
would  have  been  in  a  hazardous  situation,  too. 

However,  now  that  this  immediate  danger 
was  passed,  the  next  thing  was  to  determine 
what  was  the  best  thing  to  be  done.  The  more 
Whitey  thought  it  over,  the  more  determined 
he  was  to  go  on  with  the  adventure;  he  reas- 
oned that  if  the  finding  of  the  burned  match 
had  awakened  Pedro's  suspicions  to  any  great 
extent,  he  would  have  made  an  immediate 
search.  Whitey  knew  also  that  it  was  getting 
toward  night,  and,  in  all  probability,  the  ranch 
hands  would  be  moving  about  the  yard  for  some 
time  engaged  on  the  evening  chores;  and  that 
160 


THE  CAVE  GIVES  EVIDENCE 

to  come  from  their  concealment  at  this  time  and 
attempt  to  ride  away  would  be  more  dangerous 
than  to  remain  until  after  dark  and  get  away 
under  the  cover  of  the  darkness. 

"I  guess  we  might  as  well  go  ahead  and  see 
what  there  is  in  here,"  said  Whitey,  and  Injun 
offered  no  objection.  "It's  more  dangerous  to 
go  out  now  than  it  is  to  stay,"  added  Whitey. 

As  long  as  it  was  best  to  stay  in  the  chamber, 
they  might  as  well  explore  it  and  possibly  make 
more  definite  discoveries. 

Accordingly,  the  boys  came  cautiously  out 
of  their  concealment  and  by  the  light  of  ari 
occasional  match  made  their  way  further  into 
the  recesses  of  the  cave  under  the  ranch  house. 
They  found  the  chamber  far  more  spacious 
than  it  had  seemed  at  first,  though  it  varied  in 
width  considerably,  and  there  were  several 
angles  and  turnings. 

At  one  point  there  was  a  flight  of  wooden 
steps,  evidently  leading  to  the  ranch  house 
above,  and  Whitey  knew  from  his  observation 
of  the  exterior  location,  that  they  must  have 
proceeded  under  ground  for  more  than  a  hun- 
161 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

dred  yards.  Passing  the  steps,  their  noses  told 
them  that  they  were  near  cattle,  and  there  was 
also  the  unmistakable  shuffling  sound  that  a 
number  of  cattle  make  when  closely  confined. 
Cautiously  they  felt  their  way  along  the  wall 
— the  last  match  had  disclosed  that  they  were 
approaching  a  turn — and  came  to  a  place  where 
the  chamber  perceptibly  broadened  again,  and 
by  sound  and  by  smell  the  boys  knew  that  they 
were  close  upon  the  cattle. 

It  was  with  a  feeling  of  dismay  that  Whitey 
realized  that  he  had  but  three  matches  left! 
And  though  he  had  not  been  wasteful  of  them, 
he  felt  that  he  had,  perhaps,  jeopardized  their 
chances  of  discovery,  and  even  of  escape,  by 
a  too  lavish  use  of  them.  It  would  have  been 
most  difficult  to  make  their  way  back  to  the 
entrance.  However,  it  was  most  necessary  to 
light  one  here,  and  Whitey  scratched  one,  tak- 
ing great  care  to  shield  its  flame  against  any 
draught. 

"Here  goes!"  said  Whitey.  "We've  got  to 
use  our  match  here !" 

The  flare  of  the  match  revealed  an  extensive 
162 


THE  CAVE  GIVES  EVIDENCE 

underground  corral,  fenced  off  with  heavy  tim- 
bers ;  and  in  this  enclosure  were  some  twelve  or 
fifteen  cattle.  As  Whitey  held  the  match  high- 
er, Injun  slipped  forward  and  examined  the 
beast  that  stood  blinking  at  him  only  a  few 
feet  away. 

"Look!"  said  Injun,  as  excited  as  he  ever 
permitted  himself  to  be,  and  Whitey  peered  at 
the  steer. 

The  right  forefoot  of  the  animal  was  badly 
split,  exactly  corresponding  to  the  peculiar 
hoof -print  that  he  had  discovered  near  the 
creek;  and  on  the  flank  of  this  and  other  ani- 
mals was  the  plainly  distinguishable  brand  of 
the  Bar  O! 

As  the  match  flickered  and  went  out,  the 
boys  heard  the  voices  of  men  as  though  coming 
from  a  door  that  had  been  suddenly  opened, 
and  foot-steps  were  plainly  audible  coming 
down  the  stairs  behind  them. 

"Somebody's  coming!"  whispered  Whitey  as 
Injun  clutched  his  arm.  They  must  seek  a  hid- 
ing place  at  once,  for  the  coming  of  the  men  in 

163 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

their  rear  cut  off  any  retreat  by  way  of  the  tun- 
nel. 

At  the  side  of  the  corral  was  a  rude  plat- 
form or  rick,  upon  which  was  piled  a  quantity 
of  hay  for  the  cattle,  and  with  one  accord  the 
two  boys  darted  toward  this,  but  the  momen- 
tary glance  that  they  had  given  the  spot,  during 
the  brief  flicker  of  the  match,  had  been  insuffi- 
cient for  Whitey,  at  least,  to  get  his  bearings 
with  accuracy;  and  even  at  the  expense  of  the 
possibility  of  disclosing  themselves,  he  was 
compelled  to  light  another  of  the  precious 
matches.  The  men  were  as  yet  some  distance 
away,  and  around  one  of  the  turns,  and  he 
concluded  that  the  light  of  the  match  would  not 
be  perceptible  to  them.  It  was  not — neither 
was  it  perceptible  to  either  Whitey  or  Injun! 
It  was  one  of  the  sort  of  matches  that  are 
made  to  sell,  not  to  burn;  and  after  a  brief 
and  non-illuminating  flame  it  went  out! 

"What  do  you  think  of  that  luck?"  whispered 
Whitey,  angrily.  "There's  nothing  else  to  do 
but  use  the  last  one !" 

There  was  plenty  of  time  to  light  another 
164 


THE  CAVE  GIVES  EVIDENCE 

one,  but  in  his  excitement  Whitey  dropped  the 
last  match  he  had  upon  the  floor,  and  to  search 
for  it  would  have  been  hopeless !  Alone  in  the 
dark  and  no  matches ! 

Injun  did  the  best  he  could  by  grabbing 
Whitey's  hand  and  leading  him  to  the  hay-rick, 
and  into  this,  with  as  little  noise  as  possible — it 
seemed  to  Whitey  that  they  made  a  fearful 
racket — the  two  boys  climbed,  uncertain  of 
their  way  and  ignorant  as  to  how  much  conceal- 
ment the  place  really  afforded.  "Any  port  in  a 
storm,"  and  there  was  certainly  a  storm  com- 
ing! 

Scarcely  had  the  two  boys  arranged  them- 
selves in  the  hay,  Whitey  taking  care  that  he 
had  a  slight  opening  through  which  he  could 
observe  what  took  place  in  the  room,  when 
Crowley  and  four  of  the  ranch  hands  entered. 
Three  of  the  men  carried  lanterns,  and  by 
their  dim  glow  Whitey  could  see  that  the 
chamber  was  of  vast  extent,  and  plainly  of 
natural  origin. 

Crowley  and  the  men  lost  little  time  in  get- 
ting to  work;  and  in  a  moment  a  fire  was  going 
165 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

in  the  small  furnace  and  the  branding-irons 
were  heating. 

"Get  a  move  on !"  said  Crowley,  impatient  at 
some  small  delay.  'This  business  ought  'a'  bin 
done  days  ago!  The  Boss  is  sore — tho'  he 
ain't  got  no  kick  comin',  really,  as  he's  bin 
lushin',  same  as  the  rest  of  us.  Them  cattle 
ought  'a*  bin  branded  and  on  their  way  long 
ago." 

In  a  moment,  the  iron  was  hot,  and  three  of 
the  hands  proceeded  to  drag  one  of  the  steers 
out  of  the  corral  and  it  was  thrown  to  the 
floor.  Crowley  took  the  branding-iron,  and  ap- 
plied it  with  extreme  care.  Although  Whitey 
could  not  make  out  just  what  was  done,  this  is 
what  happened :  The  steer  had  been  previously 
branded, — O.  The  branding-iron  that  Crow- 
ley  used  was  marked  I. ;  and  when  it  was  ap- 
plied exactly  over  the  previous  brand,  the  re- 
sult was  +O.  A  very  simple  process,  there- 
fore, changed  the  brand  of  "Bar  O"  into  "Cross 
and  Circle." 

One  after  another  the  cattle  were  dragged  in 
and  re-branded,  until  twelve  in  all  had  been 
1 66 


'It'll  bother  them  Bar  O  people  consider'ble  to  claim  them  steers 
now,"  he  said 


THE  CAVE  GIVES  EVIDENCE 

"counterfeited."  In  the  midst  of  this  process 
Ross  appeared,  and  examined  critically  each  of 
the  re-branded  animals,  and  expressed  satis- 
faction at  the  completeness  and  perfection  of 
the  job. 

"It'll  bother  them  Bar  O  people  consider'ble 
to  claim  them  steers  now,"  he  said.  "But  jes' 
the  same,  we  better  get  'em  off  'long  towards 
mornin',  with  the  others,  an'  ship  'em  as  soon 
as  we  kin.  It's  takin'  some  risk,  with  them 
fresh  brands,  but  I  dunno  's  anybody  is  goin' 
to  make  a  holler.  The  main  thing  is  to  get 
'em  away  from  here.  I  don't  jes'  like  thet 
Injun's  hoss  bein'  out  there ;  but  I  reckon  'f  he's 
i 'round,  the  boys'll  round  him  up,  an'  no  harm'll 
be  did." 

"Hain't  the  boys  seen  nuthin'  of  him  yet?" 
asked  Crowley. 

"None  of  'em  's  come  back,"  said  Ross,  with 
an  oath ;  and  it  was  apparent  that  he  was  not 
at  all  comfortable.  All  this  was  plainly  audi- 
ble to  Whitey  and  Injun,  and  as  may  be 
imagined,  their  feelings  were  not  very  com- 
fortable, either;  but  they  lay  perfectly  still, 
167 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

their  nerves  tense,  and  awaited  developments. 

Scarcely  had  Ross  spoken,  when  some  one 
was  heard  approaching  through  the  tunnel  over 
the  same  route  that  the  boys  had  taken  to  en- 
ter the  cave,  and  in  a  moment  one  of  the 
ranch  hands  that  had  gone  in  search  of  Injun 
appeared.  In  answer  to  Ross's  inquiry,  he 
said,  "I  guess  there  was  only  one  o'  them  boys, 
for  the'  was  only  one  hoss — the  Injun's,  but  we 
can't  find  hide  ner  hair  o'  that  little  red  devil. 
Don't  seem  to  be  'round  no  place,  though  we 
bin  over  every  foot  of  the  yard  an'  corrals.  I 
jes'  come  through  the  tunnel — somebody  must 
V  forgot  to  close  the  gate — an'  on  the  way 
through  I  found  these  here  burnt  matches." 
And  he  exhibited  several  of  the  matches  that 
Whitey  had  thrown  away.  "Don't  look  like  the' 
's  the  same  kind  we  burn,  an'  besides,  when  any 
of  us  comes  down  here  we  git  lanterns.  What 
do  yo'  make  of  'em  ?" 

The  men   crowded   about   the   fellow   and 

looked  at  the  match-ends.     Crowley  was  the 

first   to   speak:    "It's    a    cinch   them    wasn't 

throwed  there  by  none  of  our  boys.    The'  ain't 

168 


THE  CAVE  GIVES  EVIDENCE 

a  match  like  them  in  the  place — them's  safety 
matches,  an'  we  never  had  none  o'  them  kind 
here!" 

Ross  confirmed  this  statement  and  was  fu- 
rious that  the  gate  in  the  tunnel  had  been  left 
open,  but  it  was  useless  to  rave  about  that  now, 
and  he  looked  searchingly  around  the  cave.  "Ef 
that  red  devil  has  managed  to  get  into  this 
place,"  he  said,  savagely,  "you  can  lay  a  good 
bet  he'll  never  get  out !"  Then  turning  to  the 
men,  he  gave  the  orders:  "Here,  you!  Never 
mind  them  steers.  They're  all  branded  any- 
how. Shet  that  tunnel  gate  and  block  up  the 
entrance!  Then  go  through  an'  search  every 
crack  in  this  cave  an'  don't  let  that  young  skunk 
get  away  on  yer  life!" 

The  men  at  once  began  the  search.  Ross, 
himself,  came  directly  toward  the  hay-rick  with 
the  evident  intention  of  investigating  it,  while 
the  other  men  began  to  look  into  and  behind  the 
various  boxes  and  barrels  that  littered  the  spa- 
cious floor. 

Realizing  that  escape  was  impossible, 
Whitey  did  a  very  brave  thing ;  and,  indeed,  the 

169 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

wisest  thing  he  could  have  done.  He  knew 
that  if  both  he  and  Injun  were  captured,  there 
would  be  little  chance  to  get  word  to  the  Bar  O 
outfit,  or  to  any  other  source  of  aid.  He 
gathered  from  the  talk  that  Ross  and  his  men 
suspected  the  presence  of  but  one  intruder,  as 
only  Injun's  horse  had  been  found;  and  if  one 
of  them  were  found,  the  ranchers  would  prob- 
ably be  satisfied  with  that  and  make  no  further 
search  for  a  second.  And  so,  before  Ross 
could  reach  the  hay-rick,  Whitey  squirmed  out 
to  the  edge  of  the  hay,  and  looked  into  the 
astonished  face  of  the  rancher. 


17° 


CHAPTER  XVI 

WHITEY  IS  MISSING 

DUSK  had  begun  to  settle  upon  the  Bar  O 
ranch  when  the  riderless  Monty  came  into  the 
ranch  yard  and  trotted  up  to  the  corral  gate. 
The  absence  of  the  boys  had  not  been  noticed, 
for  it  was  no  unusual  thing  for  them  to  remain 
out  even  long  after  dark.  But  when  Bill  Jor- 
dan saw  Monty  come  in  alone,  he  at  once  sent 
for  Mr.  Sherwood,  who  came  in  haste,  and  the 
other  members  of  the  outfit,  among  whom  were 
Walker  and  his  companion,  gathered  about 
also. 

"This  here  Monty  horse  just  come  in  without 
your  boy !"  said  Bill,  with  evident  concern  in  his 
voice.  "I  reckon  we  better  send  out  all  hands 
an'  see  what's  happened.  Mebbee  the'  ain't 
nuthin'  happened — Injun  was  with  Whitey,  but 
I  don't  like  the  looks  o'  this." 
171 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

"Did  any  of  you  men  see  the  boys?"  asked 
Mr.  Sherwood,  anxiously. 

"Me  an5  Hartley  seen  'em,"  said  Walker. 
"They  was  way  off  near  the  branch  an'  was 
headed  in  the  direction  of  the  Cross  an'  Circle, 
tho'  I  don't  cal'clate  they  was  goin'  there.  Me 
an'  Hartley  headed  'em  off,  an'  questioned  'em, 
an'  they  said  they  was  just  takin'  a  ride.  I  tol' 
'em  they  better  keep  away  from  the  Cross  an' 
Circle  an'  not  to  git  off  'n  the  ranch.  It's  a 
cinch  they're  off  that  way !" 

As  Walker  and  one  or  two  of  the  other  men 
were  about  to  start,  Bill  Jordan  called  a  halt. 
Turning  to  the  men,  he  said — 

"Let  ever'body  drop  what  they's  a  doin'  an' 
come  along.  Better  take  yer  guns,  fer  the's  no 
tellin'  what  kind  o'  mischief  them  two's  got 
mixed  into.  Spread  out  fan-shape,  an'  keep 
within'  hailin'  distance.  Don't  overlook 
nuthin'." 

Within  less  time  than  it  takes  to  tell  it,  every 
available  man  on  the  Bar  O  ranch  was  in  the 
saddle  and  headed  in  a  north-westerly  direc- 
tion. It  would  have  been  impossible  to  back- 
172 


WHITEY  IS  MISSING 


trail  Monty,  even  in  daylight;  but  in  the  pres- 
ent light,  it  was  out  of  the  question;  and  the 
only  logical  method  was  to  go  to  where  the  boys 
had  been  last  seen.  Naturally,  Walker  and 
Hartley  led  the  searching  party,  Mr.  Sherwood 
keeping  by  the  side  of  Bill  Jordan,  who  was 
really  in  command. 

"What  do  you  make  of  it,  Jordan?"  Mr. 
Sherwood  asked,  a  shade  of  anxiety  coming 
over  his  face. 

"Why,  Boss,  it  prob'ally  ain't  nuthin',  much 
— horse  might  'a'  got  scared  an'  throwed  him, 
tho'  'f  thet  was  the  case,  't  looks  as  tho'  Injun 
might  'a'  ketched  him — but  mebbe  not.  'Tain't 
really  much  good  spec'latin',  fer  any  one 
of  a  dozen  things  could  'a'  happened.  The's 
one  thing  I  bin  studyin'  'bout  an'  I  hope  it  ain't 
thet." 

"What  do  you  mean?"  asked  Sherwood. 

"Well,"  said  Bill,  "you  mebbe'll  remember 
when  yo'  an'  me  was  taking'  'bout  thet  Cross 
an'  Circle  outfit,  after  Ross  done  paid  us  a 
visit,  I  took  notice  thet  Whitey  was  almighty 
interested  in  what  we  wuz  sayin',  an'  fer  thet 
173 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

reason  I  took  yo'  off  to  one  side  where  he 
couldn't  hear.  'Taint  altogether  out  'n  reason 
thet  he  an'  thet  Injun  concluded  to  do  a  little 
scoutin'  aroun'  on  the'r  own  account.  I  wouldn't 
want  'em  to  get  tied  up  with  no  rus'lers."  Bill 
obviously  did  not  want  to  alarm  Mr.  Sherwood 
unnecessarily,  but  there  was  no  doubt  that  he 
thought  the  situation  serious. 

"You  mean  the  Cross  and  Circle  people?" 
asked  Mr.  Sherwood. 

"Well,  I  ain't  quite  sayin'  thet,"  said  Bill, 
:"but  I  got  idees!" 

"You  think,"  said  Mr.  Sherwood,  after  a 
pause,  "that  if  they  really  got  anything  on  the 
rustlers,  or  interfered  with  them  in  any  way, 
that  they  might — put  the  boys  out  of  the  way  ?" 
And  he  looked  apprehensively  at  Bill. 

"Mebbe  not  quite  thet,"  said  Bill,  "but  they 
might  make  it  all-fired  uncomfortable  fer  them 
two  kids." 

Mr.  Sherwood  did  not  reply,  and"for  several 

miles  the  men  rode  over  the  rolling  prairie  in 

a  gradual  ascent  toward  the  foot-hills  of  the 

mountains.    Fortunately  a  bright  moon  gave 

174 


WHITEY  IS  MISSING 


sufficient  light  to  make  their  progress  easy  and 
rapid.  At  intervals  the  men  fired  shots  into 
the  air  and 'hallooed;  but  there  was  no  answer- 
ing shot  or  call. 

The  party  finally  arrived  at  the  branch  where 
the  trail  of  the  cattle  had  been  lost,  and  Bill 
Jordan  called  the  men  together  for  a  consulta- 
tion. Here  it  was  obvious  that  there  must 
be  a  division  of  their  forces ;  and  although  he 
had  no  logical  reason  that  he  could  have  ad- 
vanced, Bill  felt  that  their  course  lay,  in  gen- 
eral, toward  the  Ross  ranch.  Call  it  intuition, 
or  a  "hunch,"  or  what  you  will,  it  was  strong 
within  him,  and  he  determined  to  follow  it. 
Often  a  plainsman  has  nothing  else  to  guide 
him — he  must  rely  upon  intuition  alone — and 
it  is  surprising  how  often  it  proves  to  be  true. 
And  so  it  was  decided  that  part  of  the  outfit 
should  ride  down  the  east  bank  of  the  river 
toward  the  Cross  and  Circle  ranch,  and  the 
others,  under  Bill,  should  approach  it  along 
the  left  bank. 

If  the  Ross  outfit  offered  nothing  else,  Bill 
made  up  his  mind  that  he  would  question  the 
175 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

men  and  get  any  information  in  regard  to  the 
boys  that  they  might  possess.  Accordingly,  six 
or  seven  of  the  men  under  Walker,  who  had 
ridden  herd  in  that  section  for  many  weeks 
and  was  thoroughly  familiar  with  every  detail 
of  it,  took  the  east  side  of  the  stream ;  and  the 
others,  under  Bill,  swam  their  horses  to  the 
other  side,  and  soon  were  under  way  toward 
the  Cross  and  Circle. 

Bill  gave  orders  that  as  the  two  parties  got 
near  the  Ross  ranch,  they  were  to  preserve 
quiet,  and  look  the  situation  over  before  mak- 
ing known  their  presence. 

At  the  first  movement  that  Whitey  made  in 
the  hay,  Ross  had  drawn  his  gun ;  but  when  he 
saw  the  boyish  face  as  it  looked  into  his,  he  let 
his  arm  drop  to  his  side ;  but  as  the  boy  started 
to  scramble  down  from  the  hay-rick,  Ross 
grabbed  him  by  the  collar  and  held  him  se- 
curely, taking  his  rifle  from  him  roughly  and 
jerking  him  to  his  feet. 

"It's  only  me,  Mr.  Ross,"  said  Whitey,  as 
he  stood  before  the  rancher.  "I  was  riding  out 


WHITEY  IS  MISSING 


by  the  river  and  discovered  the  cave  and  came 
in  to  explore  it.  I  didn't  mean  any  harm,  but 
when  I  heard  the  men  coming,  I  hid  in  the 
hay." 

"Oh,  you  did,  did  you!"  sneered  Ross,  with 
rising  anger,  as  Crowley  and  the  other  men 
crowded  around.  "You're  thet  young  Sher- 
wood kid,  ain't  ye?" 

"Yes,"  said  Whitey,  coolly,  "my  name  is 
Sherwood." 

"Well,"  said  Crowley,  menacingly,  as  he 
faced  Whitey  and  glared  at  him,  "I  reckon 
your  name  is  'Mud'  from  now  on !  What  busi- 
ness had  you  to  come  snoopin'  'round  here  an* 
comin'  into  private  tunnels  an'  things  like 
that?" 

"I  didn't  know  anything  about  your  tunnel 
being  private,  and  1  don't  see  any  harm  in  com- 
ing into  it  anyway.  You  often  come  over  onto 
our  land.  I've  seen  you,  myself." 

"Where's  that  little  Injun  skunk  thet  travels 
'round  with  you?"  asked  Ross.  "Wasn't  he 
with  yo'?  Thet  was  his  hoss  we  got  in  the 
ranch  yard." 

177 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

"Oh,  Injun  let's  me  ride  his  horse  wherever 
I  want  to,"  said  Whitey,  and  this  appeared  to 
satisfy  the  men  that  Whitey  was  alone. 

It  was  evident  that  Whitey  wasn't  going  to 
scare  easily,  and  a  problem  was  presented  to 
Ross  and  his  men.  They  did  not  know  how 
much  Whitey  had  seen  or  heard ;  to  let  him  go 
would  be  hazardous,  and  to  keep  him,  they 
knew  would  be  perhaps  equally  dangerous. 
Ross  and  Crowley  consulted  together,  a  little 
apart  from  Whitey  and  the  others,  but  in  a 
moment  one  or  two  of  the  men  joined  them. 
Whitey  stood  looking  innocently  about  and 
apparently  unconcerned;  but  he  was  really 
much  disturbed.  He  did  not  fear  for  himself, 
for  he  felt  that  the  gang  would  scarcely  dare 
kill  him ;  but  Injun's  case  was  different.  Pedro 
was  very  much  in  evidence,  and  he  was  menac- 
ing enough  even  toward  Whitey.  What  his 
attitude  would  be  if  he  got  hold  of  Injun  left 
little  to  conjecture.  And  so  Whitey  deter- 
mined to  divert  any  suspicions  the  gang  might 
have  as  far  from  Injun  as  possible. 

Some  of  the  men  were  for  doing  away  with 


I 

WHITEY  IS  MISSING 


Whitey  at  once,  on  the  theory  that  "dead  men 
— or  boys  either — tell  no  tales."  But  Ross  and 
Crowley  were  not  inclined  to  do  this,  just  yet, 
and  Ross  told  the  men  to  "go  slow."  He  de- 
termined to  find  out  first  how  much  Whitey 
knew. 

"Was  yo'  here  when  we  was  brandin'  our 
cattle?"  asked  Ross,  taking  the  boy  roughly  by 
the  shoulder. 

"I  suppose  you  were  branding  some  cattle," 
answered  Whitey ;  "but  I  was  back  in  the  hay. 
Let  go  of  my  shoulder !  You  haven't  got  any 
right  to  hold  me  that  way !" 

Whitey  made  a  movement  as  though  to  draw 
his  revolver  from  his  hip-pocket,  but  Ross 
seized  his  arm  and  wrenched  the  little  pearl- 
handled  .22  away  from  him.  "Gimme  thet 
thing!"  Ross  yelled.  "What  d'  ye  mean  by  try- 
in'  to  draw  this  here  pop-gun  on  me?  Hey? 
"I'll  hold  you  a  good  deal  tighter  'n  that  'fore 
I  git  thro'  with  ye !"  he  snarled,  shaking  Whitey 
violently.  "Yo'  shut  yer  trap  an'  give  a  civil 
answer  when  y're  spoke  to,  er  I'll  put  ye  where 
the  dogs  won't  bite  ye !" 
179 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

"Let  me  tend  to  him,  Boss,"  said  the  tall 
man  who  had  come  with  Ross  to  the  Bar  O 
ranch ;  "I  got  a  way  of  handlin'  kids  like  him," 
and  he  advanced  as  though  to  take  hold  of 
Whitey. 

Before  Ross  or  Crowley  could  interfere,  the 
tall  man  reached  for  Whitey  and  the  latter,  not 
waiting  for  or  relying  upon  their  assistance, 
parried  the  man's  lead,  and  stepping  in  close 
to  him,  planted  a  severe  straight  right-hand 
punch  in  the  man's  stomach  that  doubled  that 
gentleman  up. 

"You  let  me  alone,  you  big  sheep-stealing 
jail-bird!"  yelled  Whitey.  "I  know  you,  Mis- 
ter 'One-Card'  Tucker,  and  I  tell  you  right  now 
that  if  you  put  your  hand  on  me,  Bill  Jordan 
will  tend  to  you,  and  tend  to  you  right — like  he 
did  before — at  San  Quentin !" 

This  whole  performance  was  a  bomb-shell  in 
the  Ross  camp.  While  they  were  all  astonished 
at  the  promptness  and  vigor  and  skill  with 
which  Whitey  had  delivered  the  punch  that 
doubled  up  Tucker,  the  fact  that  the  boy  was 
familiar  with  the  man's  record,  and  that  Jor- 
180 


WHITEY  IS  MISSING 


dan  had  undoubtedly  recognized  him  on  the 
occasion  of  the  visit  to  the  Bar  O,  created  con- 
siderable consternation.  The  next  few  min- 
utes, however,  were  occupied  in  quelling  the 
outraged  Mr.  "One-Card"  Tucker. 

"Lemme  git  at  him!  I'll  kill  thet  little  pizen 
pup !"  howled  Tucker,  who,  as  soon  as  he  got  his 
breath,  had  made  an  effort  to  draw  his  re- 
volver ;  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  Whitey  would 
have  fared  badly  if  Ross  and  Crowley  had  not 
grabbed  the  man  and  taken  the  gun  away  from 
him,  after  considerable  difficulty. 

"Gimme  that  gun,"  yelled  Ross  as  he  grap- 
pled with  the  infuriated  Tucker.  "Ain't  you  big 
enough  to  handle  a  boy  without  that?  Any 
more  o'  that  stuff  an'  I'll  wring  your  neck !" 

The  laughter  of  several  of  the  men  over  the 
fact  that  the  big  man  had  been  doubled  up  by 
a  fourteen-year-old  boy  did  not  tend  to  soothe 
Mr.  Tucker's  feelings.  It  was  of  course  ob- 
vious that  in  a  bout  of  fisticuffs  with  Tucker, 
Whitey  would  have  had  no  chance ;  but  he  was  a 
husky  boy  and  had  delivered  the  blow  on  ex- 
actly the  right  spot — the  solar  plexus — and  it 
181 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

really  doesn't  take  a  very  hard  blow  there  to 
cause  a  man  considerable  annoyance. 

But  the  affair  brought  up  a  new  complica- 
tion; there  could  be  no  doubt,  now,  that  the 
head  of  the  Bar  O  outfit  must  have  some  sus- 
picions about  the  personnel  of  the  Cross  and 
Circle.  Had  this  knowledge  come  to  Ross  at 
any  other  time,  he  would  probably  have  pub- 
licly discharged  Tucker,  and  disclaimed  any 
knowledge  of  his  character  when  he  hired  him. 
But  it  was  a  trifle  late  to  adopt  this  course  now. 
Furthermore,  it  would  be  most  unwise  to  let 
any  very  great  harm  happen  to  Whitey;  he 
must,  of  course,  be  held  a  prisoner  so  that  he 
could  give  no  information  to  the  Bar  O  people, 
but  to  murder  him  in  cold  blood  was  taking 
too  much  of  a  chance,  even  in  a  desperate  sit- 
uation like  this.  Ross  knew,  too,  that  Whitey' s 
continued  absence  from  the  Bar  O  ranch  would 
cause  an  immediate  and  exhaustive  search  to 
be  made  for  the  boy,  and  he  was  in  no  posi- 
tion to  stand  anything  like  that.  Quite  a 
dilemma — he  didn't  dare  keep  Whitey,  and  he 
didn't  dare  let  him  go! 
182 


WHITEY  IS  MISSING 


Of  the  two  evils,  the  former  seemed  the 
lesser,  and  he  and  Crowley  determined  to  keep 
the  boy  until  such  time  as  they  could  get  rid 
of  the  "counterfeit"  cattle,  and,  in  a  way,  "put 
their  house  in  order." 

In  fact  Ross  had  great  confidence  in  the  se- 
crecy of  the  under-ground  chamber.  There 
was  very  little  chance  that  any  one  would  dis- 
cover it  at  the  river — not  one  in  a  thousand; 
and  in  the  house  above  the  entrance  to  it  was 
most  cleverly  concealed,  so  that  even  a  care- 
ful examination  might  take  place  without  its 
existence  being  even  suspected.  The  ranch 
was  apparently  without  a  cellar,  as  could  be 
seen  from  the  outside.  But  it  was  built  al^ 
most  against  the  high  and  rocky  cliff  on  one 
side,  and  it  was  at  this  point  that  the  entrance 
to  the  subterranean  chamber  was  gained. 

In  the  living-room  of  the  ranch  there  stood 
a  large  wardrobe  in  which  were  hung  various 
articles  of  clothing,  as  well  as  lariats  and  other 
ranchmen's  equipment.  The  wide  doors  of  this 
wardrobe  were  usually  open  and  a  full  view  of 
the  interior  afforded  to  any  one  who  entered 
183 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

the  room.  This  very  fact  would  have  served  to 
divert  suspicion  from  that  direction  even  had 
the  searcher  been  aware  that  there  was  a 
chamber  below.  In  the  back  of  this  wardrobe 
was  a  door,  with  invisible  hinges,  that  opened 
onto  a  stairway  leading  down  to  the  chamber. 

The  lock  that  operated  the  door  was  con- 
trolled by  one  of  the  hooks  that  were  apparent- 
ly fastened  onto  the  back  of  the  wardrobe  for 
the  purpose  of  hanging  clothes  upon  it,  but 
also  answered  the  purpose  of  a  door-knob. 

When  the  hook  was  turned  three  times  to  the 
right,  the  catch  of  the  lock  was  released  and 
the  door,  which  was  really  the  back  of  the 
wardrobe,  swung  back  and  revealed  the  steps. 
The  lock  was  a  spring-lock,  and  was  opened 
from  the  cavern  side  by  the  ordinary  knob  that 
operates  such  locks.  The  cavern  was  really 
not  under  the  house  at  all,  but  to  one  side  of 
it;  and  thus  sounding  the  floors  would  reveal 
nothing  hollow  underneath. 

Though  the  house  itself,  as  used  by  the  for- 
mer owner,  was  nothing  out  of  the  ordinary 
and  almost  exactly  like  many  of  the  other 
184 


WHITEY  IS  MISSING 


houses  that  were  plentiful  in  that  section,  yet 
under  the  Ross  regime  it  had  been  made  into 
a  veritable  fortress,  although  this  was  not  par- 
ticularly noticeable  from  the  outside.  The  win- 
dows had  been  barred  sufficiently  close  to  pre- 
vent a  man  from  getting  in  or  going  out;  and 
on  the  inside  were  iron  shutters  with  loop- 
holes in  them.  Through  these  holes  a  rifle 
could  be  thrust  and  aimed,  with  little  danger 
that  the  user  of  it  would  be  hit  by  a  bullet  from 
the  exterior. 

The  doors  were  of  heavy  planks,  and  were 
fitted  with  double  bars  which,  when  in  place, 
would  make  the  forcing  of  the  doors  a  difficult 
matter.  And,  in  case  things  got  too  warm,  the 
cave  offered  a  refuge,  and  the  tunnel  to  the 
river  provided  a  means  of  escape.  Altogether, 
it  looked  like  a  pretty  safe  place  to  carry  on 
,;  such  a  business  as  the  Cross  and  Circle  was  en- 
gaged in. 

But  in  all  these  calculations,  Ross  was 
reckoning  without  Injun!  That  young  man 
was  destined  to  prove  quite  a  factor  in  the 
upsetting  of  some  very  well-laid  plans. 

185 


CHAPTER  XVII 

HELD  IN  CAPTIVITY 

"THE  only  thing  to  do,"  said  Ross  to  Crow- 
ley,  as  they  talked  apart  from  the  others,  "is 
to  tie  up  this  here  kid  until  we  can  make  a 
get-away.  The  whole  shebang  is  blowed,  now 
thet  he  knows  as  much  as  he  does.  Me  an'  you 
can  do  a  sneak  with  what  the'  is  in  the  safe, 
an'  let  these  gazoots  hold  the  bag." 

"I'm  in  favor  of  a  get-away,  all  right,  fer 
yo'  an'  me,  but  not  yet !  The's  altogether  too 
much  stuff  to  leave  behind;  an'  there  ain't  no 
use  o'  gittin'  cold  feet.  What  kin  thet  Bar  O 
outfit  do,  anyhow?  The'  ain't  one  chanct  in  a 
million  thet  they  kin  find  anythin',  an'  while 
I  ain't  in  favor  o'  puttin'  this  here  kid's  light 
out,  we  kin  keep  him  here  indefinit' — ef  we 
want  to.  The'  be  an  awful  squawk  when  he 
186 


HELD  IN  CAPTIVITY 


turns  up  missin',  but  kids  has  bin  missin'  afore, 
an'  they  ain't  got  no  call  to  lay  nuthin'  at  our 
door.  Ef  they  do,  an'  worst  comes  to  worst, 
we'll  give  'em  a  battle !" 

It  took  some  time  for  Crowley  to  convince 
Ross  that  this  was  the  proper  course  to  pursue ; 
but  eventually  Ross  determined  to  stick  it  out, 
and  he  and  Crowley  came  back  to  the  others, 
and  Crowley  gave  the  orders. 

"A  couple  of  yo'  men  block  up  the  tunnel 
so 't  a  snake  can't  get  through  either  way.  Ross, 
let's  yo'  an'  me  hobble  this  here  young  Jim 
Corbett  so  't  he'll  stay  with  us  a  spell."  Turn- 
ing to  Whitey,  he  said,  "Yo'  are  goin'  t'  be  a 
guest  o'  the  ranch  fer  a  time,  Jim.  'S  long's 
yo'  don't  make  no  fuss  an'  try  to  git  away,  er  t' 
put  somethin'  over,  yer'  goin'  to  be  all  right 
an'  treated  nice.  But  the  first  break  yo'  make 
—well,  Son,  that'll  be  'bout  the  last  thing  yo'  '11 
ever  do !" 

Crowley  and  Ross  grabbed  Whitey,  who  re- 
sisted to  the  best  of  his  ability.  "You've  got 
no  right  to  keep  me  here!"  he  protested.  "I 
haven't  committed  any  crime  and  I  don't  pro- 
187 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

pose  to  be  made  a  prisoner!  If  I  am,  you  bet 
you'll  pay  for  it!" 

"Mebbe  not,"  said  Crowley,  "but  jes'  the 
same,  we  ain't  goin'  to  dispense  with  yo'r  so- 
ciety for  a  spell.  Yo'  come  without  no  invi- 
tation, an'  now  I  reckon  yo'  might  as  well 
tarry  'long  with  us.  Ef  we  let  yo'  go  out  at 
night  mebbe  one  o'  them  ontamed  Jack-rabbits 
might  sneak  up  an'  bite  yo'.  Hoi'  on,  yo'  young 
scorpion !" 

The  occasion  of  the  last  remark  was  a  solid 
kick  on  the  shins  that  Whitey  landed  on  the 
taunting  Crowley  as  the  latter  reached  for  the 
boy  and  tried  to  hold  his  arms  so  that  Ross 
could  tie  them.  Whitey  did  not  propose  to 
stand  still  and  be  hobbled,  and  he  left  no  doubt 
of  it  in  the  minds  of  either  Ross  or  Crowley. 
Of  course,  the  boy  stood  no  chance  in  the 
hands  of  the  two  strong  men;  but  for  a  few 
moments  there  was  considerable  fuss;  before 
they  got  Whitey  "roped  and  thrown,"  he  had 
inflicted  a  number  of  painful  bruises  on  each 
of  the  men. 

"Suff erin'  cats !"  said  Crowley  as  he  limped 
188 


HELD  IN  CAPTIVITY 


away  from  the  bound  and  prostrate  form  of 
Whitey.  "Of  all  the  varmints  ever  I  tackled 
that's  the  worst!  I  wish  I'd  let  Tucker  alone 
when  he  wanted  to  shoot  him  up !" 

Ross  swore  roundly  and  with  great  fervency 
as  he  tried  to  stop  a  nose-bleed  with  his  coat- 
sleeve.  Whitey,  in  his  wrath,  threw  all  discre- 
tion to  the  winds,  as  he  struggled  at  his  bonds, 
but  could  not  loose  them. 

"You  wait — you  two  cattle-thieves!"  sput- 
tered Whitey,  as  he  lay  on  the  floor  of  the 
cavern.  "You  wait  till  the  Bar  O  outfit  gets 
done  with  you.  You  and  your  counterfeit 
brands !  Bill  Jordan  will  hold  a  necktie-party 
and  don't  you  forget  it!" 

"Put  a  gag  onto  him,  Crowley,"  said  Ross, 
as  he  wiped  away  some  blood  from  his  nose. 

"Put  it  on  yo'self,"  answered  Crowley,  "I 
got  a  belly-full  o'  monkeyin'  with  him,  right 
now!"  And  Crowley  showed  a  severe  bruise 
on  his  shin  as  he  rolled  up  the  leg  of  his 
trousers. 

"I'll  put  it  on,"  said  Tucker,  eagerly;  and 
taking  a  handkerchief,  he  bent  over  Whitey 
189 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

and  started  to  insert  the  gag  in  no  gentle  man- 
ner. In  a  moment  Tucker  let  out  a  howl  and 
jumped  back,  nursing  a  badly  bitten  hand.  With 
an  oath  he  sprang  back  at  Whitey  and  deliv- 
ered a  severe  downward  blow  at  Whitey's  face, 
but  Whitey  ducked  to  one  side,  and  Tucker's 
fist  crashed  against  the  rocky  floor  of  the 
cavern.  Before  he  had  time  to  deliver  an- 
other, Crowley  had  pulled  him  off,  and  hurled 
him  aside. 

"Now,  listen,  you  big  stiff,"  said  Crowley, 
menacingly.  "If  yo'  pulls  any  more  o'  that 
stuff,  I'll  tend  to  yo'— «r  mebbe  I'll  untie  that 
kid  an'  sic  him  onto  yo'!  I  knowed  yo'  was 
pretty  low-down,  but  I  give  yo'  more  credit  'n 
to  want  to  soak  a  boy — an'  him  with  his  hands 
an'  feet  tied!" 

"Well,  look  what  he  done  to  me!"  yelled 
Tucker,  exhibiting  his  hands — one  badly  bitten, 
and  the  other  bruised  and  bleeding  from  its 
contact  with  the  rocky  floor  of  the  cavern. 
"Look  what  he  done!" 

"Well,  yo'  wanted  the  job  of  gaggin'  him, 
didn't  yo'?"  said  Crowley.  "Yo'  didn't  s'pose 
190 


HELD  IN  CAPTIVITY 


thet  rarin'  catamount  was  gonna  lie  there  an* 
let  yo'  put  yo'r  finger  into  his  mouth  'thout 
bitin'  it,  did  yo'?  An'  as  fer  thet  other  hand 
— I  guess,  mebbe,  yo'  ain't  got  no  great  kick 
comin'  'bout  thet.  I'd  like  t'  seen  yo'  break  yo'r 
arm!" 

If  Mr.  "One-Card"  Tucker  was  looking  for 
sympathy,  he  needed  some  powerful  glasses; 
for  no  matter  how  depraved  and  dishonest  men 
are,  there  usually  remains  in  them  a  liking  for 
fair  play  and  a  certain  sympathy  for  the  under 
dog.  And  no  matter  how  low  their  standard 
of  morals  may  be  otherwise,  there  are  very  few 
Western  men  who  will  stand  by  and  see  a 
man  abuse  either  a  woman  or  a  boy  or  a  dumb 
animal.  It  isn't  in  the  breed. 

Crowley  turned  to  Ross,  who,  by  this  time, 
had  managed  to  stop  his  nose-bleed:  "I  don't 
reckon  thet  this  here  ragin'  hyena  needs  no 
gag.  We'll  stow  him  back  in  the  cellar,  an'  he 
kin  yell  his  head  off,  ef  he  wants  to;  he  can't 
raise  no  holler  loud  'nuff  fer  anybody  to  hear. 
A  couple  o'  yo'  men  take  an'  tote  him  back  into 
the  angle  back  o'  the  cattle.  An'  look  out  how 
191 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

you  handle  him !  He's  a  ringtail  Looloo,  with 
a  stinger  on  head  an'  tail !" 

Two  of  the  men  picked  up  the  bound  Whitey 
had  started  back  with  him,  but  Crowley  stopped 
them.  Turning  to  all  the  men,  he  said,  "An' 
right  here,  I  gives  notice — partic'lar  to  yo', 
One-Card — thet  ef  any  thin'  happens  to  thet 
kid,  I'm  gonna  settle  with  you  personal'.  Thet 
makes  yo'  his  g'ardeen  an'  pertector.  D'  yo' 
understand?  Rustlin'  cattle  is  bad  enough, 
but  murderin'  babies  is  a  heap  worse,  an* 
I  ain't  takin'  no  chances  facin'  a  jury  on  them 
partic'lar  indictments." 

"He's  a  fine,  healthy  baby!"  said  Ross  and 
Tucker,  feeling  of  their  wounds. 

And  all  this  time  Injun  lay  still  in  the  hay 
and  waited  for  his  opportunity. 

The  two  men  proceeded  to  carry  Whitey 
around  the  pen  in  which  the  cattle  were 
coralled,  to  where  the  passage  turned  at  a 
sharp  angle.  The  dim  light  of  their  lantern 
sufficed  to  illuminate  only  that  portion  of  the 
cavern  in  the  immediate  vicinity,  but  judging 
from  the  echoes  that  reverberated  from  the  re- 
192 


HELD  IN  CAPTIVITY 


cesses  beyond,  the  cave  ran  for  a  considerable 
distance  into  the  mountain.  The  men  deposit- 
ed Whitey  upon  the  rocky  floor  with  little  cere- 
mony, and  retraced  their  steps;  and  soon  he 
was  left  in  darkness  and  silence.  The  two  men 
were  joined  at  the  stairs  leading  to  the  house 
above  by  those  who  had  been  sent  to  block 
up  the  entrance  from  the  river,  and  the  clos- 
ing of  the  heavy  door  above  left  the  two  boys 
alone  in  the  cavern. 


193 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

INJUN   TAKES  A   HAND 

INJUN  lost  little  time  in  crawling  noiselessly 
out  of  the  hay,  after  he  had  heard  the  foot- 
steps die  away  on  the  stairs  and  the  door  above 
close;  but  he  was  cautious  enough  to  lie  still 
for  a  moment  and  listen,  for  the  darkness  was 
such  that  he  could  see  nothing.  Climbing  down 
to  the  floor  of  the  cavern,  he  produced  his  flint 
and  steel;  and  in  a  moment  he  had  lighted 
a  sliver  of  wood  that  he  had  chipped  from  one 
of  the  planks  with  his  hunting-knife.  With 
this  light  he  located  a  larger  piece  of  stick,  and 
soon  had  a  torch  that  lit  up  the  space  around 
him  for  considerable  distance.  He  glided  swift- 
ly around  the  cattle  corral,  and  in  a  few  sec- 
onds he  had  loosed  Whitey's  bonds,  and  the 
latter  stretched  his  limbs  that  were  even  then 
194 


INJUN  TAKES  A  HAND 

beginning  to  feel  the  numbing  effects  of  the 
tight  rope  that  had  pinioned  him. 

It  was  necessary  to  do  something,  and  that 
something  quickly,  for  the  boys  did  not  know 
at  what  moment  the  men  might  return.  Injun 
split  a  number  of  long  slivers  from  a  plank 
to  serve  as  torches,  and  then  the  boys  made 
their  way  back  toward  the  entrance  to  the 
river.  They  found  that  the  tunnel  had  been 
effectually  closed  not  more  than  fifty  feet  from 
its  mouth  by  a  heavy  door  that  had  been  barred 
and  padlocked,  and  which  resisted  all  their  ef- 
forts to  open  it. 

The  fact  that  they  had  been  able  to  enter  the 
place  at  all  had  been  due  to  the  carelessness  of 
the  last  party  of  ranchers  that  had  entered  and 
neglected  to  close  and  fasten  it.  Long  immu- 
nity makes  men  careless  about  the  most  im- 
portant things. 

Finding  that  escape  in  this  direction  was  im- 
possible, the  boys  made  their  way  back  to  the 
other  end,  but  found  there  was  no  exit  there. 
They  then  came  back  to  the  stairs  that  led  to 
the  room  above.  Here  they  held  a  consulta- 
195 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

tion,  and  decided  to  mount  the  stairs  and  see 
what  could  be  learned.  Cautiously  ascending 
the  stairs,  Injun  listened  at  the  door;  and,  af- 
ter a  moment,  reported  to  Whitey  that  there 
were  several  men  in  the  room  playing  cards 
and  discussing  the  situation.  After  examining 
the  lock  by  the  light  of  one  of  the  splinters. 
Whitey  saw  that  it  could  be  opened  by  simply 
turning  the  knob;  and  returning  to  the  floor  of 
the  cavern,  he  formulated  a  plan,  which,  al- 
though a  desperate  one  and  probably  likely 
to  fail,  seemed  to  be  their  only  chance. 

"It's  dark  by  this  time,"  said  Whitey,  "and 
probably  the  only  light  in  the  room  is  a  swing- 
ing one  over  the  table,  like  all  the  ranch-houses 
have."  Injun  nodded  assent,  and  Whitey  con- 
tinued :  "We'll  both  go  to  the  top  of  the  stairs, 
and  I'll  open  the  door  quickly  and  smash  the 
lamp.  There'll  be  a  big  fuss  and  confusion, 
and  maybe  you  can  slip  through  the  room  and 
out  one  of  the  windows  without  being  caught. 
What  do  you  think  of  it?" 

Injun  thought  a  while  and  finally  nodded ;  he 
knew  that  the  ranch-house  windows  were 
196 


INJUN  TAKES  A  HAND 

barred,  but  he  also  knew  that  he  could  prob- 
ably wiggle  through  them,  and  he  indicated 
that  he  was  ready  as  soon  as  Whitey  was. 
Whitey  selected  a  stout  stick  at  the  corral,  and 
noiselessly  the  two  boys  climbed  the  stairs, 
and  Whitey  cautiously  turned  the  knob.  The 
door  swung  back  toward  them  noiselessly,  and 
by  good  luck  the  doors  of  the  wardrobe  that 
concealed  the  door  were  partially  closed  in  an- 
other second,  Whitey  and  Injun  stood  in  the 
wardrobe. 

From  his  position  Whitey  could  see  a  part  of 
the  room,  and  he  pointed  out  to  Injun  that  there 
was  a  window  at  the  end  of  the  room  through 
which  the  latter  might  climb  without  having 
to  pass  the  table.  Injun  was  to  remain  behind 
one  of  the  doors  of  the  wardrobe  until  Whitey 
had  smashed  the  lamp,  and  then  he  was  to  make 
a  run  for  it.  The  conversation  of  the  men  was 
plainly  audible. 

"I  ain't  none  too  stuck  on  the  bet  as  she 

lays,"  said  the  heavy  voice  of  Ross,  who  had  by 

this  time  imbibed  considerable  whiskey,  "an'  I 

ain't  shore  but  the  best  thing  'd  be  to  choke 

197 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

thet  kid  an'  chuck  him  in  the  river.  Ef  he  ever 
gits  loose,  it's  good  night !" 

There  was  a  murmur  of  assent  at  this  from 
some  of  the  men,  but  Crowley  was  plainly 
against  it.  "Yo'  all  is  afraid  o'  yo'r  own 
shadder!  In  the  first  place,  how's  he  goin'  t'1 
git  loose  ?  The'  ain't  no  way  f er  him  t'  git  out 
'n  thet  cellar  'cept  through  this  room,  even  ef 
he  got  shet  of  'bout  twenty-five  foot  o'  rope 
thet  was  drawed  some  tight  'round  his  arms  an' 
legs.  An'  't  looks  like  we  all  might  stop  him 
'fore  he  got  very  far  ef  he  come  this  way!" 
and  Crowley  looked  about  him  contemptuously. 
"I'm  a  heap  more  'fraid  o'  facin'  a  murder  in- 
dictment 'n  I  am  of  anythin'  thet  kid  er  the 
hull,  blame  Bar  O  outfit  kin  do !  I  tell  yo'  the' 
ain't  no  danger  o'  their  findin'  him  'n  the'  is  o' 
thet  lamp  explodin'!" 

Whitey  had  set  himself  for  the  spring,  and 
he  threw  open  the  doors  of  the  wardrobe  and 
reached  the  table  in  one  bound.  With  a  blow 
of  the  stick  he  shattered  the  lamp,  and  then 
swung  it  about  him  vigorously.  Taken  en- 
tirely unawares,  and  being  totally  ignorant  of 


INJUN  TAKES  A  HAND 

what  had  struck  them,  there  was  indescribable 
pandemonium  for  a  time.  The  room  was  in 
almost  utter  darkness,  and  several  of  the  men 
having  received  hearty  whacks  over  the  head 
from  the  club  in  Whitey's  hands,  contributed 
shouts  and  curses  to  the  general  uproar. 

"What  the  jumpin'  tom-cuts  has  struck  us?" 
shouted  Crowley  in  consternation  as  he  re- 
ceived a  whack  across  his  face  from  the  stick, 
and  a  deep  and  fervent  oath  from  Ross  indi- 
cated that  he,  too,  had  "got  his." 

Each  was  afraid  to  shoot  lest  he  hit  one  of 
his  own  gang,  and,  indeed,  the  whole  outfit  was 
at  a  decided  disadvantage.  No  one  saw  the 
sinuous  Injun  as  he  glided  out  of  the  ward- 
robe and  slipped  along  the  wall  to  the  window. 
The  bars  were  not  very  far  apart,  but  it  is 
probable  that  Injun  would  have  gone  through 
any  space  that  a  rattlesnake  could ;  and  in  less 
time  that  it  takes  to  tell  it,  Injun  had  squirmed 
his  way  between  the  bars  and  dropped  to  the 
ground  in  the  darkness  outside. 

The  solid  thumps  that  Whitey  bestowed  on 
the  various  anatomical  parts  of  those  at  the 
199 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

table  had  the  effect  of  scattering  them  in  all 
directions;  and  they  were  completely  in  the 
dark  as  to  what  kind  of  a  cyclone  had  struck 
the  place.  They  could  make  no  individual  or 
concerted  resistance,  and  the  result  was  that 
they  simply  tried  to  get  out  of  the  way  as  best 
they  could.  The  opening  of  a  door  by  one  of 
the  men,  who  was  really  trying  to  escape,  let 
in  a  flood  of  light,  and  several  of  the  men  rec- 
ognized Whitey  as  the  source  of  the  trouble. 
"Holy  Mackerel!"  yelled  Crowley,  "ef  't  ain't 
thet  ragin'  catamount  got  loose!  Grab  him, 
there,  Ross,  quick,  afore  he  puts  the  whole 
dump  on  th'  bum !" 

With  a  yell  of  rage  and  amazement,  four  of 
the  ranchers  fell  upon  Whitey  in  a  sort  of  foot- 
ball formation,  while  that  young  man  fought 
and  bit  and  clawed  and  kicked  as  long  as  he 
could  move  a  muscle. 

As  soon  as  the  lanterns  were  brought  in  and 
the  bruised  and  cursing  cowboys  had  disen- 
tangled themselves,  Whitey  was  yanked  to  his 
feet  in  no  gentle  manner;  and  while  the  irate 
Ross  almost  choked  rum  to  death,  Crowley 
200 


INJUN  TAKES  A  HAND 

bound  him  tight  in  a  lariat  much  after  the 
fashion  that  a  mummy  is  swathed  in  bandages. 
Finally,  when  this  was  thoroughly  and  com- 
pletely done,  Ross  relinquished  his  grip  on 
Whitey's  wind-pipe,  and  stood  back  and  wiped 
the  perspiration  from  his  red  and  bloated  face. 

There  was  a  large  and  rapidly  swelling  welt 
over  one  of  Ross*  eyes  where  Whitey's  club 
had  landed  in  the  whirlwind  assault  that  he  had 
made  upon  the  gang.  In  fact,  there  were  few 
of  the  men  who  were  not  "decorated"  in  some 
manner,  for  Whitey  had  played  no  favorites  in 
wielding  his  shillalah  in  the  dark.  Crowley's 
lip  was  swollen  to  several  times  its  natural  size, 
and  it  was  evident  that  he  was  having  hard 
work  to  control  his  temper;  and  he,  as  well  as 
the  others,  glared  at  the  boy  in  a  way  that 
boded  ill  for  him. 

But  Whitey  returned  their  black  looks  with 
interest ;  his  fighting-blood  was  up, — he  had  no 
regard  for  consequences ;  and  had  he  been  loose, 
he  would  have  charged  all  of  them.  One  thing 
only  was  the  salvation  of  Whitey.  Crowley 
caught  sight  of  several  of  the  men  nursing  their 
201 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

various  bruises — the  welt  above  Ross'  eye  was 
assuming  ludicrous  proportions — and  Crowley 
laughed ! 

"No  danger,  hey?"  snarled  Ross.  "He 
couldn't  git  loose,  er  nuthin'!  Oh,  no!  He's 
jes'  as  harmless  as  a  ton  o'  dynamite !" 

"No  more  chanct  o'  him  gittin'  loose  'n  the' 
is  o'  the  lamp  explodin' !"  put  in  another,  sar- 
castically. "Well,  by  Judas,  't  looks  t'  me  as 
tho'  the  lamp  done  exploded!" 

"Yo'  all  said  a  mouthful!"  admitted  Crow- 
ley,  feeling  of  his  lip,  and  speaking  with  some 
difficulty.  "An'  I  reckon  mebbe  I  was  among 
them  present  when  she  blew!  I  ain't  got  real 
bright  yet  after  thet  wallop  he  giv'  me !" 

"Yo're  shore  pretty  bright,  anyhow!"  said 
Ross,  making  a  painful  effort  to  sneer.  "Seems 
to  me  it  was  yo'  said  he  didn't  need  no  gag 
ner  nuthin'!  Mebbe  he  don't — but  he's  goin' 
to  git  one — one  'at  '11  shet  him  up  fer  'bout 
five  hundred  years,  an'  then  some !  I'm  tryin' 
to  decide  whether  t'  bile  'im  over  a  slow  fire 
er  t'  pull  'im  apart  with  four  bosses!  I  bin 
shin-kicked,  thumb-bit,  an'  walloped  across  the 
202 


INJUN  TAKES  A  HAND 

nose  with  a  club,  an'  I  reckon  that'll  be  'bout 
all  this  evenin'!  The'  ain't  no  child- wonder 
goin'  to  put  them  things  over  onto  me  an'  get 
away  with  it — not  while  I  got  my  health,  he 
ain't." 

"Don't  look  as  tho'  none  of  us  'd  have  much 
health  ef  this  here  pizen  varmint  ain't  took  in 
hand  pronto!"  said  Tucker,  who  had  received 
a  crack  over  his  sore  knuckles  that  put  his  hand 
out  of  business.  "I  ain't  got  no  more  scruples 
'bout  shootin'  him  up  'n  I'd  hev  'bout  killin' 
a  coyote!"  and  Tucker  tried  to  draw  his  gun 
with  his  sore  hand. 

'The'  won't  nuthin'  like  thet  come  off — not 
while  I'm  'round !"  said  Crowley,  firmly.  "Ef 
seven  er  twelve  big,  over-growed  huskies  like 
we  ali  is  has  t'  call  in  the  Sassiety  f  er  the  Per- 
vention  uv  Cruelty  by  Childern  an'  holler  fer 
help  ever'  time  this  here  half -portion  shows 
up  in  our  midst,  I  reckon  we  all  better  make 
application  fer  admission  to  the  home  fer  crip- 
pled old  wimmen  an'  set  out  onto  the  piazzy  in 
rockin'  chairs,  'long  with  the  rest  on  'em!" 

And  Crowley  looked  at  the  battered  group 
203 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

and  laughed.  He  knew  that  the  situation  was 
a  dangerous  one  for  the  boy,  and  that  it  had  to 
be  handled  with  considerable  tact ;  and  he  chose 
one  of  the  strongest  weapons  at  his  command 
— ridicule.  Keeping  his  eye  on  "One-Card" 
Tucker  and  Pedro — the  latter  had  not  come  out 
of  the  fracas  unscathed,  and  although  he  had 
not  said  anything,  was  a  dangerous  customer, 
— Crowley  continued:  "Fur  's  I'm  concerned, 
personal',  bein'  only  a  growed  man  an'  him  a 
boy,  I'm  calc'latin'  on  climbin'  a  tree  whenever 
I  git  his  scent ;  but  't  looks  t'  me  's  though  we 
all  might  band  together  an'  pertect  ourselfs 
agin  ol'  Calamity,  here,  without  cuttin'  his, 
throat  er  shootin'  him  up  when  his  hands  is 
tied! 

"Look  here,  Bud,"  he  said,  turning  to 
Whitey,  and  tactfully  trying  to  change  the 
subject,  "how  cum  yo'  to  git  loose,  anyhow  ?  I 
know  I  done  roped  yo'  myself,  an'  I  ain't  no 
amachoor — not  at  ropin',  I  ain't." 

"One  of  our  Bar  O  cattle  that  you  thieves 
'counterfeited'  was  a  friend  of  mine  and  came 
up  and  ate  the  rope  in  two !"  said  Whitey,  with 
204 


INJUN  TAKES  A  HAND 

a  laugh.  "How  else  do  you  suppose  I  could 
get  loose?" 

As  Whitey  said  these  indiscreet  words  Ross 
uttered  an  oath  and  started  to  draw  his  gun. 

"That  settles  it!"  he  said.  "He's  wise  to 
the  whole  game,  an'  I'm  goin'  to  cook  his 
goose  right  now!"  And  this  determination 
seemed  to  meet  with  general  approval.  Tucker 
and  Pedro  drew  nearer  and  backed  Ross  up. 

Crowley  turned  swiftly  and  faced  them,  his 
eyes  narrowed  to  slits.  "Be  yo'  goin'  to  play 
a  lone  hand,"  asked  Crowley,  "er  is  this  a 
free-fer-all?  I  ain't  noway  pertic'lar,  but  I 
jes'  want  t'  know  whether  I'm  foreman  here  er 
not." 

"Yo're  foreman,  all  right,"  said  Ross,  boil- 
ing with  rage,  "but  I'm  the  Boss !  An'  /  say 
I'm  goin'  to  croak  the  little  skunk!" 

Crowley  stood  perfectly  still  between  the 
three  men  and  the  boy,  his  hands  on  his  hips, 
and  his  jaw  set  tight. 

"Le'  's  see  yo'  try  it !"  he  said.  "I'm  standin' 
right  here  an'  waitin'!" 


205 


CHAPTER  XIX 

INJUN  TO  THE  RESCUE 

WHEN  Injun  dropped  to  the  ground  from 
the  barred  window,  he  made  off  in  the  dark- 
ness toward  the  corral,  dodging  behind  such 
objects  as  seemed  likely  to  offer  any  conceal- 
ment, although  he  figured  that  pursuit  was 
unlikely,  as  the  men  at  the  ranch-house  had 
their  hands  full  with  Whitey.  He  kept  his 
eyes  open  for  such  of  the  outfit  as  might  be 
without  the  house,  for  he  knew  that  capture 
would  mean,  not  only  his  own  death,  but  would 
destroy  the  last  chance  of  bringing  aid  to  his 
pal.  Once  he  had  arrived  at  the  high  bank  of 
the  river,  he  felt  that  his  chances  to  escape 
observation  had  materially  increased,  and  he 
set  out  on  a  dog-trot  to  cover  the  miles  that  lay 
between  himself  and  the  Bar  O  ranch. 
206 


INJUN  TO  THE  RESCUE 

Meanwhile,  the  two  searching  parties,  one 
on  either  side  of  the  river,  were  sweeping  to- 
ward the  Cross  and  Circle  ranch,  leaving  little 
of  the  ground  unobserved  as  they  proceeded. 
Acting  under  Bill  Jordan's  orders,  the  parties 
maintained  silence  as  they  drew  nearer  the 
Cross  and  Circle.  When  they  were  not  more 
than  half  a  mile  distant  from  it,  the  party  on 
the  left  bank  of  the  river  suddenly  drew  up 
their  horses  in  response  to  a  call  that  sounded 
close  by,  and  Injun  scrambled  over  the  edge  of 
the  bank  and  ran  to  them.  In  a  few  words 
Injun  told  what  had  happened,  and  Bill  Jor- 
dan swung  the  boy  up  behind  him,  called  the 
men  to  cross  from  the  opposite  bank,  and  the 
whole  party,  some  fifteen  or  sixteen  strong, 
was  soon  headed  for  the  Cross  and  Circle  at  a 
gallop. 

Arrived  at  the  ranch  yard,  under  the  guid- 
ance of  Injun,  Jordan  located  six  men  at  the 
mouth  of  the  tunnel  in  case  an  attempt  should 
be  made  to  escape  that  way ;  and  with  the  bal- 
ance of  the  party  he  rode  straight  for  the 
house.  Injun,  once  he  had  pointed  out  the 
207 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

tunnel,  slipped  away  unnoticed  and  made  for 
the  window  through  which  he  had  escaped. 

Inside  the  house  the  situation  was  grave  for 
Whitey.  Crowley  faced  the  enraged  Ross  who 
was  backed  up  by  the  more  desperate  members 
of  the  gang.  His  cool  nerve  had  a  disconcert- 
ing effect  upon  the  Boss,  and  it  is  probable  that 
had  he  dealt  with  him  alone,  he  would  have 
been  able  to  prevent  him  from  carrying  out  his 
avowed  purpose.  But  it  is  a  difficult  thing 
to  keep  an  eye  on  several  men  at  once,  and  by 
a  stealthy  and  almost  imperceptible  movement 
"One-Card"  Tucker  drew  his  revolver  slowly 
from  its  holster. 

He  stood  with  his  side  to  the  window,  at 
which  Injun  had  posted  himself,  and  there  was 
no  doubt  as  to  what  Tucker  intended  to  do.  But 
before  he  had  a  chance  to  raise  his  gun  an  ar- 
row from  Injun's  bow  pierced  the  muscles  of 
the  man's  arm,  pinning  it  to  his  side ! 

Tucker  dropped  to  the  floor  with  a  howl  of 

agony,  and  it  was  a  second  or  two  before  the 

other  men  realized  what  had  happened,   for 

there  had  been  no  sound ;  and  until  they  saw  the 

208 


INJUN  TO  THE  RESCUE 

arrow,  which  had  gone  entirely  through  Tuck- 
er's biceps  and  was  imbedded  deep  in  the  mus- 
cles of  his  back,  they  were  ignorant  of  the 
presence  of  an  unknown  enemy. 

For  a  second  the  men  stood  dazed — as  is  al- 
ways the  case  when  something  of  a  more  or 
less  mysteriously  disconcerting  nature  hap- 
pens— antf  as  they  turned  hastily  toward  the 
windows  to  ascertain  the  source  of  the  attack, 
they  saw  the  Winchesters  of  the  Bar  O  boys 
glisten  between  the  bars,  and  heard  the  voice 
of  Bill  Jordan  shout,  "Hands  up — an'  keep  'em 
up!" 

It  was  the  work  of  but  a  few  moments  to 
complete  the  capture  of  the  gang.  The  seven 
outlaws  were  faced  to  the  wall,  and  while  they 
were  in  this  position,  and  under  cover  of  the 
Winchesters,  Injun  squirmed  through  the  bars 
of  the  window,  relieved  the  ranchers  of  their 
weapons,  loosed  Whitey's  bonds,  and  then  un- 
barred the  heavy  door  and  admitted  the  Bar  O 
men. 

To  tie  the  hands  of  the  outlaws  securely 
209 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

behind  their  backs  was  the  work  of  a  few  mo- 
ments, and  then  they  were  faced  about. 

"A  fine  gang  of  high-binders!'*  commented 
Bill  Jordan,  as  he  looked  them  over.  "I  had 
your  number,  all  right,  Yancy,  though  sence 
yo'  growed  them  wriskers  yo'  bin  castin'  as- 
paragus on  the  good  name  o'  'Ross!'  I 
reckon,  mebbe,  the  folks  down  to  Albuquerque 
'11  be  right  tickled  t'  see  thet  there  ugly  mug 
o'  your'n — 'speci'ly  the  Sher'ff.  An'  here's  my 
ol'  friend,  'One-Card'  Tucker,  all  ornamented 
up  'ith  arrers  an'  such!  I  reckon  yo'  done 
drawed  yo'r  last  card,  ain't  yo',  Tucker  ?" 

"That's  the  meanest  scoundrel  in  the  whole 
outfit!"  exclaimed  Whitey.  "If  he'd  had  his 
way,  I  wouldn't  be  here  now!  He  got  that 
hand  by  swinging  a  punch  at  me  when  I  lay  on 
the  floor  with  my  hands  tied!  It  must  have 
been  Injun  who  made  a  pin-cushion  out  of  him 
with  that  arrow!" 

"  Tin-cushion'  is  right !"  said  Jordan,  look- 
ing at  Tucker's  arm;  "but  I  want  to  tell  you, 
Son,  the'  ain't  no  such  thing  as  'the  meanest 
210 


INJUN  TO  THE  RESCUE 

skunk'  in  thet  bunch — the's  all  the  same  kind 
o'  pizen.  One  's  'bout  like  t'  other." 

"No,"  said  Whitey,  "you're  mistaken  about 
that ;  there's  one  man  here,  Crowley,  the  fore- 
man, who  saved  my  life  twice — once  when 
Tucker  wanted  to  shoot  me,  and  once  when 
Ross  tried  it.  He  wouldn't  have  it,  and  he  stood 
off  the  whole  gang." 

"Which  is  him?"  asked  Bill,  in  an  incredu- 
lous tone. 

"Here  he  is,"  said  Whitey,  pointing  to  the 
foreman. 

"Step  out  here,  yo'  Crowley  person,  an' 
lemme  have  a  slant  at  yo'." 

Crowley  looked  at  Bill  sullenly,  but  did  not 
move.  "I  ain't  askin'  no  favors,"  he  said.  "I 
reckon  I  kin  take  my  medicine  with  the  rest." 

"Seems  like  yo'  was  some  squeamish  in  this 
here  matter,"  said  Bill,  eyeing  Crowley  keenly. 
"I'm  s'prised  at  yo' !  Was  yo'  'fraid?" 

"I  reckon  I  wasn't  'fraid  none.    I  done  'bout 

ever'thing  in  my  time,  but  I  draw  the  line  at 

murderin'  kids  an'  wimmen.    Thet  ain't  in  my 

line  o'  business!"    Then  adding,  indifferently, 

211 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

"Go  on  with  the  proceeding!  Don't  let  me 
hender  yo'  none !" 

Bill  stepped  closer  to  the  man  and  looked  in- 
tently into  his  face.  "No,"  he  said  after  a  mo- 
ment, "I  guess  you  wasn't  'fraid!"  Then  he 
asked,  "Was  you  ever  in  Juarez,  Mister — er — 
Crowley?" 

"Yes,"  answered  Crowley,  "but  not  recent,  I 
wasn't." 

"When?" 

"Several  times,"  said  Crowley.  "Th'  las' 
time  was  when  the'  was  a  right  smart  o'  trou- 
ble into  Silver-Dollar  Joe's  place — consider'ble 
shootin'  and  such.  Havin'  the  luck  to  git  out 
with  mostly  a  hull  skin,  'cept  in  a  few  places,  I 
never  felt  no  call  to  go  back." 

"I  thought  so,"  said  Bill.  "Name  wasn't 
'Crowley'  then,  was  it?"  Crowley  smiled  and 
shook  his  head. 

Bill  walked  over  to  Crowley  and  turned  the 
man  around,  and  taking  out  his  knife,  he  cut 
the  rope  that  bound  his  hands.  Turning  to  Air. 
Sherwood  and  the  rest  of  the  Bar  O  outfit,  he 
said,  "Gents,  what  I'm  doin'  is  on  my  own  re- 
212 


INJUN  TO  THE  RESCUE 

sponsibility.  Ef  the's  any  objections  to  it,  I'm 
agreeable  to  givin'  my  reasons."  He  looked 
about  him,  and  no  one  seemed  to  offer  any  ob- 
jection. 

"Go  as  fur  's  yo'  like,  Bill,"  said  one  or 
two  of  the  men;  and  Sherwood  nodded. 

Bill  turned  again  to  Crowley.  "Yo'  don't 
b'long  to  no  such  outfit  as  this  here !"  he  said. 
"Yo'  pick  out  yo'r  gun  an'  Winchester  out'n 
thet  pile,  an'  get  onto  yo'r  pinto  an'  see  how  fur 
yo'  kin  ride  away  from  these  vicinities  'fore 
sun-up." 

Then  turning  to  Mr.  Sherwood,  Bill  said, 
"Boss,  jes'  lemme  have  forty  dollars  an'  charge 
the  same  to  me,  ef  you'll  be  so  kind."  Mr. 
Sherwood  handed  the  money  to  Jordan,  who 
passed  it  over  to  Crowley  without  a  word. 
"Thanks,"  said  the  latter,  "that's  right,  as  I 
figger."  "Yes,"  said  Jordan,  "that's  the  way 
I  figger  it  too.  Good-by  an'  good  luck." 

Crowley  turned  to  go  and  then  hesitated ;  he 
looked  keenly  at  Bill,  and  then  he  said,  "I  ain't 
s'posed  to  give  no  state's  ev'dence,  er  nuthin' 
213 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

like  thet,  be  I  ?  'Cause  ef  I  am,  I  reckon  I'll  stay 
an'  play  out  the  string." 

"I  didn't  mention  no  conditions,  did  I  ?"  said 
Bill,  a  little  heatedly. 

Crowley  turned,  picked  out  his  weapons  from 
the  pile  and  then  turned  to  Jordan.  "Ef  you 
value  the  lives  o'  them  hombreys  you  got  lined 
up  there,"  he  said,  "I'd  advise  you  to  tie  up 
thet  boy,  too.  He's  liable  to  be  too  rough  with 
'em." 

Then  he  turned  and  strode  out  of  the  room ; 
and  in  a  few  moments  the  men  heard  the  hoof- 
beats  of  his  horse  as  he  galloped  away. 

Bill  offered  no  explanation  of  his  leniency 
and  none  was  asked;  but  such  was  the  confi- 
dence in  Jordan's  squareness,  that  it  is  improb- 
able that  any  one  felt  that  an  injustice  had 
been  done.  Certainly  Whitey  was  glad  and 
relieved  to  know  that  the  man  who  had  twice 
saved  his  life  had,  in  a  measure,  been  repaid 
in  his  own  coin.  He  also  knew  that  there  was 
a  story  behind  it  all — a  story  of  some  previous 
relations  that  Bill  had  had  with  the  man — and 
214 


INJUN  TO  THE  RESCUE 

he  resolved  to  get  it  out  of  Jordan  at  the  first 
favorable  opportunity. 

"I  guess  I  may  as  well  take  my  gun,  too," 
said  Whitey  as  he  picked  up  the  pearl-handled 
.22  from  the  pile  that  had  been  taken  from  the 
Ross  gang,  and  thus  was  the  gift  of  little  Bobby 
restored  to  its  rightful  owner. 

"I  was  wonderin'  how  thet  puttey-blower 
come  to  be  in  thet  outfit?"  said  Bill,  smiling. 
"You  want  to  look  out,  Son!  Ef  yo'  should 
happen  t'  shoot  a  man  with  thet  there  thing 
an'  he  finds  it  out,  he  might  be  vexed!" 
Whitey  grinned,  but  pocketed  the  little  gun, 
which  turned  out  to  be  better  than  it  looked, 
long  afterwards. 

The  arrival  of  the  Sheriff  and  a  posse  sim- 
plified matters  as  far  as  the  disposition  of  the 
outlaws  was  concerned.  Jordan  had  taken  the 
matter  in  hand  immediately  after  Ross's  visit 
to  the  Bar  O,  and  had  dispatched  a  messenger 
for  the  Sheriff,  feeling  that  he  had  enough  evi- 
dence against  the  Cross  and  Circle  outfit  to 
warrant  that  proceeding. 

After  the  whole  party  had  explored  the 
215 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 


place  under  the  guidance  of  the  two  boys,  and 
the  stolen  cattle  had  been  identified,  they  all 
came  back  to  the  living-room  of  the  ranch. 
,  The  Sheriff  took  Jordan  and  Sherwood  aside 
and  said, 

"There  is  another  matter  that  mebbe  this 
here  Mr.  Ross,  as  he  calls  himself,  can  throw 
a  little  light  onto,  an'  that  is,  how  he  cum  to 
git  possession  o'  this  here  ranch.  It's  a  cinch 
he  didn't  buy  it  off'n  the  former  owner,  Brad- 
ley; and  nobody  seems  to  be  able  to  locate 
where  this  here  Bradley's  went  to.  I  was 
calc'latin*  to  make  some  inquiries  'bout  it,  it 
havin'  bin  called  to  my  attention,  when  yo'r 
messenger  cum.  The's  some  o'  Bradley's  folks 
'd  like  to  know  'bout  the  transaction." 

"Well,"  said  Bill,  "I  dunno,  but 't  seems  like 
ef  I  was  Sher'ff  an'  I  got  my  hooks  onto  a  bird 
like  this  here  Yancy-Ross  person,  I  dunno  's  it 
'd  be  necessary  to  ask  the  cuss  to  do  any  great 
'mount  of  explainin'.  The's  a  powerful  lot  o' 
nice  trees  on  the  way  to  the  Bar  O !" 

"So  the'  is,"  said  the  Sheriff,  "now  't  I  cum 
216 


INJUN  TO  THE  RESCUE 

to  think  of  it !  They  ain't  bore  no  'fruit'  f er  a 
consider'ble  spell,  neither,  hev  they  ?" 

"Not  sence  them  other  rustlers  was  dis- 
couraged 'bout  three  or  four  years  back.  Some 
o'  my  boys  'd  be  plumb  tickled  to  death  t'  es- 
cort them  hombreys  t'  jail — er  some  place." 

"Hmm,"  said  the  Sheriff,  meditatively.  "I'll 
think  it  over." 

At  this  moment  Whitey  and  Injun  came  up 
to  Bill,  all  excitement. 

"Pedro  isn't  here!"  said  Whitey.  "He  was 
here  just  before  you  came,  but  he's  not  among 
the  prisoners." 

"Him  Pedro  gone !"  said  Injun  laconically. 

Jordan  was  all  attention  in  a  second :  "Here, 
Walker,  Bob,  an'  the  lot  o'  yo' — the  boys  says 
thet  our  ol'  friend  Pedro  was  here  jes'  before 
;  we  cum !  Take  a  gang  an'  go  over  this  dump 
with  a  fine-tooth  comb!  I'll  give  fifty  dollars 
to  the  man  thet  brings  him  in,  an'  I  ain't  per- 
tic'lar  what  kind  o'  condition  he's  in,  neither !" 

"Yes,  an'  I'll  add  another  fifty  to  it!"  put 
in  the  Sheriff.  "An'  the  deader  he  is,  the  better 
217 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

I'll  like  it!"  he  added,  heartily.  "Thet  coyote 
has  cost  the  county  'bout  enough  as  't  is !" 

A  thorough  search  of  the  house,  cellar,  and 
the  vicinity  failed  to  reveal  any  trace  of  Pedro, 
much  to  the  chagrin  of  Bill  Jordan,  not  to  men- 
tion that  of  those  who  were  desirous  of  earn- 
ing a  hundred  dollars. 

Injun  shook  his  head.  "Him-  Pedro  gone !" 
he  said,  ruefully.  It  was  a  matter  of  some  con- 
sequence to  Injun — as  events  turned  out. 


218 


CHAPTER  XX 

THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  CROWLEY 

THERE  remained  little  to  do  at  the  ranch 
which  had  formerly  been  the  home  of  the  Cross 
and  Circle  outfit,  and  this  little  was  soon  done. 
Several  of  the  Bar  O  men  were  left  to  look 
after  the  stock  and  keep  guard.  Injun's  pinto 
was  found  tied  in  the  corral;  and  both  owner 
and  horse  gave  every  evidence  of  delight  at 
their  reunion.  Much  to  the  regret  of  the  boys 
of  the  Bar  O,  the  Sheriff  decided  to  escort  the 
prisoners  to  the  jail  himself  rather  than  have 
the  ranchers  escort  them  to  "some  place;"  and, 
therefore,  the  trees  on  the  way  to  the  Bar  O 
did  not  bear  any  "fruit"  as  the  result  of  the 
contemplated  "neck-tie  party." 

It  was  found  that  "One-Card"  Tucker's 
219 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

wound  was  a  severe  one,  and  he  was  given  sur- 
gical attention  by  Bill  Jordan,  who  allowed  as 
how,  "When  a  pizen  critter  is  shore  destined 
to  be  hung,  'tain't  right  t'  cheat  th'  gallus  an' 
let  him  croak  natcheral !" 

On  the  way  home  Whitey,  who  had  com- 
mandeered one  of  the  horses  of  the  Cross  and 
Circle,  rode  up  beside  Bill  Jordan  and  Mr. 
Sherwood,  followed  of  course,  by  Injun. 

"Mr.  Jordan,"  began  Whitey,  "won't  you 
tell  us  why  you  let  that  man  Crowley  go  ?  I'm 
mighty  glad  you  did,  for  he  certainly  saved  my 
life!" 

Jordan  smiled :  "Mebbe,"  he  said,  "that  was 
partly  the  reason." 

"That  may  have  had  something  to  do  with 
it,"  said  Whitey,  "but  I  know  there  was  some 
other  reason,  too." 

"Well,"  said  Bill,  after  a  pause,  "now  't 
we're  here  together,  I'll  tell  yo'  all.  'Bout  five 
six  years  ago  I  was  down  to  Juarez,  an'  I  gits 
into  more  kinds  o'  trouble  than  Carter  's  got 
pills.  I'd  bin  down  into  Mexico,  an'  I  was  head- 
ed back  fer  God's  country,  an'  I  jes'  drops 
220 


THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  CROWLEY 

ofFn  the  train  t'  watch  them  skates  out  t'  the 
merry-go-round  they  calls  a  'race-track/  an' 
mebbe  pick  up  a  bet  er  two.  'Bout  the  fourth 
race  I  cum  t'  the  conclusion  I  wa'n't  no  jedge  o' 
hoss-flesh — not  them  kind  o'  hosses,  anyhow — 
an'  I  lays  out  t'  beat  it  away  from  there  an' 
get  a  train.  'Fore  I  c'd  git  off'n  the  track — 
they  must  'a'  seen  I  was  a  hick — some  dip 
lifted  what  was  left  o'  the  roll,  not  fergittin'  t' 
incude  my  watch  an*  railroad  ticket  in  the 
deal!"  Bill  laughed  as  he  thought  of  it,  and 
the  others  laughed  with  him. 

"Funny,  ain't  it?"  said  Bill,  grinning.  "But 
't  wa'n't  so  funny  then!  They  shore  picked 
me  cleaner  'n  a  col'-storage  chicken,  an'  when 
I  give  my  jeans  a  frisk,  I  found  I  was  exactly 
fourteen  dollars  shy  o'  havin'  a  nickel!  I  bet 
I  walked  nine  mile  'round  thet  town,  thet 
evenin',  an'  never  seen  a  friendly  face!  An' 
me  hungry  'nuff  t'  eat  raw  dog;  but  I  never 
run  acrosst  no  dog — not  no  four-legged  one, 
anyway,  less'n  yo'  call  them  hairless  kind  dogs 
—the  kind  thet  looks  like  a  rat  on  stilts.  Fin'ly 
I  strays  into  this  here  Silver-Dollar  Joe's  place 
221 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

• — so  called  on  account  o'  him  havin'  a  bunch  of 
Jem  riveted  into  th'  floor  an'  such.  The'  was  a 
bald-headed  hombrey  dealin'  faro-bank,  an'  I 
stands  around  watchin'  the  game,  hopin'  some- 
body 'd  drop  a  quarter  er  somethin' — but  no- 
body done  nuthin'  like  thet — not  onto  th'  floor, 
't  least.  I  think  I'd  of  give  'em  a  battle  fer  it 
ef  they  had!  Bimeby  the'  was  a  tall  guy  gits 
up  from  the  table  an'  hands  out  th'  most  artis- 
tic line  o'  cussin'  I'd  heard  in  some  time.  When 
a  gent  kin  manhandle  language  an'  discuss  his 
luck  like  he  done,  it's  a  gift!  He  cum  over  to- 
wards me,  an'  I  reckon  I  must  'a'  looked  like 
a  picture  o'  hard  luck,  too ;  an'  he  says,  stopping 
an'  givin'  me  the  once-over,  'Yo'  don't  look 
yo'  had  no  rabbit's  foot  workin'  over-time  fer 
yo',  neither/  he  says. 

"  'Correct,"  I  says.  "As  fur  's  luck's  con- 
cerned, it's  a  case  o'  horse-an'-horse — only 
mebbe  mine's  a  mite  worse  'n  your'n/ 

"  'I  kin  lick  any  man  thet  says  his  luck  is 
worse  'n  mine !'  he  says. 

"  'Commence !'  I  says,  squarin'  off. 
222 


THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  CROWLEY 

"He  looked  me  over,  an'  'n  he  says,  'Mebbe 
we  better  have  somethin'  first?'  he  says. 

' ' Yo'  're  on !'  I  says,  linkin'  my  arm  into 
his'n  so  't  he  couldn't  git  away  an'  change 
his  mind. 

"Well,  we  had  one  an'  then  another,  him 
doin'  the  pay  in',  me  havin'  declared  myself  in- 
solvent. We  stood  leanin'  agin'  th'  bar,  me 
havin'  visions  that  mebbe  he'd  say  somethin' 
'bout  a  san'wich.  But  seems  he  had  other  idees. 
He  fin'ly  digs  up  a  ten-dollar  gold-piece  an' 
twirls  it  on  the  bar  careless — an'  me  meditatin' 
robbery  from  the  person  when  I  seen  it.  In  a 
minute  I  was  glad  to  kep'  control  o'  my  yearn- 
in's. 

"  'This  here's  the  last  o'  th'  Mohigans/  he 
says.  'It  ain't  no  good  t'  me,'  he  says,  'an' 
mebbe,  ef  you'd  take  it  an'  set  into  thet  game, 
yo'  might  make  her  run.  The's  them  thet  says 
thet  two  neg'tives  makes  a  affidavit,  er  some- 
thin',  an'  combinin'  yo'r  luck  an'  mine  mebbe 
'11  start  somethin'.  Want  t'  take  a  chanct?' 

"Did  I  want  t'  take  a  chanct!  I  did  so! 
223 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

Tho'  I  was  some  tempted  t'  buy  ten  dollars 
wu'th  o'  ham  an'  eggs  with  th'  hull  of  it. 

"Well,  I  set  in,  an'  my  friend  went  to  sleep 
pronto.  Pretty  soon  luck  begin  t'  cum  my  way 
an'  I  win  a  bet  now  an'  then.  After  a  spell  I 
had  seventy  dollars  in  silver  in  front  o'  me,  an' 
my  friend  woke  up.  He  cum  over  back  o*  my 
chair  an'  he  says,  'How  much  yo'  got  ?'  'Seven- 
ty dollars/  I  says.  'Don't  make  no  more  bets/ 
he  says,  kinder  loud,  'thet  bald-headed  pirate  is 
dealin'  seconds  an'  settin'  up  splits/ 

"Right  there's  where  she  started.  I  managed 
t'  git  the  money  into  my  jeans  before  the  worst 
cum,  an'  the'  was  considerable  fire-works  an* 
breakage  took  place.  I  dunno  jes'  what  hap- 
pened, but  I  seen  my  friend  wa'n't  no  slouch 
an'  took  quite  a  hand  in  th'  festivities,  an'  the' 
wa'n't  much  left  o'  the  place  when  the  smoke 
cleared.  I  seen  my  friend  make  a  get-away, 
an'  I  follered  as  soon  's  I  could.  But  though 
I  put  in  all  nex'  day  lookin'  fer  him  to  give  him 
his  forty  dollars,  I  never  saw  him  agin  till 
to-night!" 

Bill  rode  along  in  silence  for  a  moment;  then 
224 


THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  CROWLEY 

he  said,  reminiscently,  "His  name  wasn't  Crow- 
ley,  then — somethin'  a  heap  more  stylisher! 
Seems  t'  me  't  was  some  such  name  as  Smith — 
er,  mebbe,  Jones.  Whatever  't  was,  I  consider 
he  had  mebbe  a  little  more'n  forty  dollars  corn- 
in*  to  him  from  me — after  what  he  done  to  me 
thet  night  in  Juarez." 


225 


CHAPTER  XXI 

INJUN  TACKLES  CIVILIZATION 

The  happenings  at  the  Cross  and  Circle 
ranch  had  served  to  knit  closer  those  bonds 
which  held  the  white  boy  and  the  Indian  to- 
gether. Already  fast  friends,  the  trials  and 
dangers  that  they  had  been  through  still  fur- 
ther cemented  the  tie  into  something  more  than 
friendship.  Injun  received  his  full  share  of 
credit  in  the  affair,  for  it  had  been  through  his 
wonderful  sagacity  and  his  remarkable  pow- 
ers of  observation  that  the  various  discoveries 
had  been  made  that  led  to  the  tracing  of  the 
cattle,  the  cleaning  out  of  the  gang,  and  the 
recovery  of  much  valuable  property.  In  fact,  it 
was  finally  revealed,  after  a  long  investigation, 
that  the  former  owner,  Bradley,  had  been  mur- 
dered by  Ross,  or  Yancy,  and  that  deeds  and 
226 


INJUN  TACKLES  CIVILIZATION 

other  papers  conveying  the  property  had  been 
forged,  and  thus  the  rustler  had  come  into  pos- 
session of  a  valuable  property — far  too  valu- 
able to  have  jeopardized  it  by  the  nefarious 
practices  in  which  he  engaged.  And  when  the 
property  was  finally  restored  to  the  rightful 
heirs,  each  of  the  boys  was  remembered  in  a 
substantial  way  by  the  Bradley  heirs,  as  will 
be  seen  later. 

Whitey,  too,  was  not  forgotten  when  it  came 
to  apportioning  the  credit  for  the  clean-up.  He, 
it  must  be  remembered,  had  first  undertaken 
the  investigation  on  his  own  hook;  he  had 
crawled  out  of  the  hay  and  offered  him- 
self for  capture  that  Injun  might  escape — a 
thing  which  required  very  much  more  than  or- 
dinary nerve  and  unselfishness.  And  it  was 
largely  on  account  of  his  aggressive  action  that 
the  capture  of  the  band  was  effected  without 
any  bloodshed,  except  that  which  flowed  from 
"One-Card"  Tucker's  arm,  and  the  bruises 
which  Whitey  inflicted  on  the  various  members 
of  the  Ross  gang. 

When  the  whole  story  was  fully  known,  it 
227 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

is  almost  needless  to  say  that  the  two  boys  were 
heroes  with  the  men  of  the  Bar  O  and  the  other 
nearby  ranches;  but  they  bore  their  honors 
modestly,  and  each  made  little  of  the  part  that 
he,  himself,  had  played  in  the  affair,  and  gave 
credit  to  the  other  for  having  enacted  the  prin- 
cipal role. 

The  one  "fly  in  the  ointment"  was  the  es- 
cape of  Pedro.  Not  only  did  this  continue  a 
very  grave  menace  to  Injun,  for  Pedro  had 
sworn  to  get  even  with  the  boy,  but  it  was  a 
keen  disappointment  to  Bill  Jordan,  who  re- 
garded Pedro  in  about  the  same  light  as  a 
mad  dog,  only  the  man  was  far  more  danger- 
ous and  resourceful  than  any  dog  could  pos- 
sibly be. 

And  now,  in  view  of  the  part  that  Whitey 
had  played  in  the  wiping  out  of  the  gang,  both 
Mr.  Sherwood  and  Bill  Jordan  felt  that  the 
white  boy,  also,  would  be  added  to  Pedro's  list 
of  those  upon  whom  he  proposed  to  visit  his 
revenge.  Pedro  was  known  to  be  a  most  per- 
sistent and  consistent  hater,  and  he  had  been 
known  to  cherish  a  trifling  grievance  for  years, 
228 


INJUN  TACKLES  CIVILIZATION 

and  to  go  a  long  distance  out  of  his  way  to 
avenge  some  trivial  injury,  real  or  fancied. 

The  entire  outfit  at  the  Bar  O  were, 
therefore,  given  strict  orders  to  keep  a  sharp 
eye  out  for  the  gentleman,  and  to  "get"  him 
on  sight,  taking  no  chances  whatever  on  his 
escape.  There  was  a  general  feeling  that  he 
would  not  leave  the  neighborhood  until  he  had, 
in  a  measure,  repaid  those  who  had  been  in- 
strumental in  balking  his  schemes,  even  if  it 
took  a  long  time  to  do  it;  and  Bill  took  the 
boys  aside  and  impressed  this  upon  them. 

Altogether,  it  was  a  jolly  party  that  rode 
into  the  ranch  yard  a  few  hours  before  day- 
light. As  they  neared  the  ranch,  Injun,  accord- 
ing to  his  custom,  had  started  to  leave  the 
party  and  go  to  his  own  haunts;  but  Whitey, 
backed  up  by  his  father  and  Bill,  put  a  veto 
on  this,  and  so  it  was  finally  decided  that 
Injun  should  spend  the  night  with  Whitey  at 
the  Bar  O  ranch. 

Injun  faced  the  proposition  with  some  mis- 
givings ;  he  was  not  accustomed  to  the  usages 
of  civilization,  being  even  more  wild  than  the 
229 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

members  of  his  own  tribe.  He  preferred  the 
wilderness  and  the  mountains  even  to  the  primi- 
tive arrangements  and  comforts  of  the  Indian 
village,  and  his  initiation  into  anything  so 
civilized  as  a  modern  ranch-house  was  a  wide 
departure. 

When  he  was  ushered  into  Whitey's  room, 
after  a  plentiful  "breakfast" — both  the  boys 
were  nearly  famished,  having  had  nothing  to 
eat  since  noon  of  the  day  previous — he  looked 
around  in  positive  awe.  The  room  did  not 
exactly  resemble  a  society  belle's  boudoir,  but 
there  were  many  things  in  it  that  meant  noth- 
ing in  Injun's  young  life. 

He  was  introduced  to  himself,  probably  for 
the  first  time,  by  means  of  a  large  mirror  that 
surmounted  the  dresser,  and  he  was  great- 
ly surprised  and  pleased  when  Whitey  showed 
him  that,  by  tilting  it,  he  could  get  a  full-view 
of  himself  as  well  as  a  "close-up."  It  is  doubt- 
ful if  he  would  have  gone  to  bed  at  all  if  Whitey 
had  not  insisted,  but  would  have  spent  the  rest 
of  the  night  seeing  himself  as  others  saw  him. 

The  hair  brush  was  also  new  to  Injun; 
230 


INJUN  TACKLES  CIVILIZATION 

and  after  he  had  been  instructed  in  its 
use,  he  spent  considerable  time  arranging  his 
long  hair  in  various  ways  before  the  glass. 
Whitey  watched  him  with  a  broad  grin :  "Why 
don't  you  do  it  up  in  blue  ribbons  ?"  he  asked, 
laughing.  Injun  rejected  this  suggestion  with 
a  grunt  and  a  shake  of  his  head.  "Ugh !  Red !" 
he  said.  He  didn't  object  to  the  ribbons,  but 
the  color !  (An  Indian  likes  any  color — as  long 
as  it's  red!) 

It  took  him  a  long  time  to  decide  to  take 
off  his  clothes,  and  he  balked  at  the  clean, 
white  pyjamas  that  Whitey  offered  him.  Noth- 
ing doing!  Fortunately  Whitey  had  a  pair  of 
vivid  pink  pyjamas ;  and  these  Injun  could  not 
resist.  He  arrayed  himself  in  them  with  som$ 
difficulty,  and  surveyed  himself  in  the  glass 
until  Whitey  threatened  to  put  out  the  light. 
And  when  it  came  to  getting  into  the  bed,  he 
was  most  dubious.  He  would  have  much  pre- 
ferred to  lay  himself  on  the  floor  near  the 
open  window  and  be  comfortable! 

After  much  persuasion,  however,  he  con- 
signed himself,  with  much  misgiving,  to  the 
231 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

soft  bed.  Injun  was  accustomed  to  selecting  a 
spot  protected  from  the  winds,  first  making  a 
fire,  if  occasion  demanded,  and  then  stretching 
out  on  the  ground  or  some  pine  boughs  that  he 
collected  if  they  were  available. 

He  could  adjust  himself  to  the  most  cramped 
and  uncomfortable  positions  and  get  the  repose 
he  needed,  even  "keeping  one  eye  open,"  as  the 
saying  is,  against  the  dangers  that  might  beset 
him  in  the  night.  However,  notwithstanding 
all  the  "discomforts"  of  the  civilization  that 
surrounded  him,  Injun  was  asleep  inside  of 
five  minutes,  though  Whitey  lay  awake  for  a 
long  time,  the  exciting  events  of  the  past 
twenty- four  hours  running  through  his  mind 
in  vivid  review ;  until,  at  last  everything  became 
a  jumble  of  caverns  and  Crowleys  and  Rosses 
and  cattle  and  scrimmages,  all  crazy  and  indis- 
tinct, fantastic  and  illusory,  as  things  always 
are  in  the  borderland  of  dreams. 


232 


CHAPTER  XXII 

INJUN  SHIES  AT  PINK  PYJAMAS 

THE  sun  was  high  in  the  heavens  when 
Whitey  awoke.  The  first  sight  that  met  his 
eyes  was  Injun,  clad  in  the  pink  pyjamas, 
parading  up  and  down  before  the  mirror,  and 
evidently  much  pleased  and  impressed  with  his 
appearance.  Whitey  watched  him  for  a  time, 
and  then  bounded  out  of  bed,  and  pouring  out 
a  basin  of  water,  scrubbed  his  face  and  hands 
vigorously.  Injun  watched  him  with  some  cu- 
riosity, but  declined  to  follow  his  example.  The 
water  part  of  it  was  all  right,  but  the  soap  he 
couldn't  understand. 

It  must  not  be  imagined  that  Injun  was  not 
cleanly;  he  spent  considerable  time  in  the 
water,  but  he  preferred  Nature's  bath-tub 
233 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

rather  than  a  tin,  or  a  crockery  one.  When 
Whitey  was  half -dressed,  he  was  somewhat  as- 
tonished to  notice  that  Injun  had  not  yet 
started. 

"Hurry  up,  Injun !"  he  cried.  "Get  into  your 
clothes  and  let's  get  some  breakfast!  I'm 
starved!" 

Injun  couldn't  see  it  at  all!  The  pink  py- 
jamas looked  pretty  good  to  him,  and  he  had 
decided  to  adopt  them  for  every-day  wear! 
Whitey  almost  laughed  himself  to  death. 
"Why,  you  can't  wear  those  things  around  the 
ranch!"  he  said,  when  he  got  his  breath. 
"Those  are  only  to  sleep  in!" 

Injun  didn't  feel  that  way  about  it  at  all; 
he  could  not  understand  why  such  comfortable, 
loose-fitting  and  becoming  garments  were  not 
appropriate  for  all  occasions.  And  to  give  em- 
phasis to  the  fact  that  he  intended  to  adopt 
them  for  business  purposes,  he  proceeded  to 
roll  up  his  shirt  and  trousers,  and  put  on  his 
moccasins,  and  tell  Whitey  that  it  was  he  who 
should  do  the  hurrying,  as  he  (Injun)  was 
dressed  and  ready. 

234 


INJUN  SHIES  AT  PINK  PYJAMAS 

g^ ^•••••i 

The  joke  was  too  good  a  one  to  spoil,  and  so 
Whitey  let  it  go  at  that,  chuckling  to  himself 
at  the  thought  of  the  sensation  Injun  would, 
create  when  he  appeared  on  the  ranch. 

Both  Mr.  Sherwood  and  Bill  Jordan  were  at 
breakfast  when  the  two  boys  entered,  and  the 
men  burst  into  fits  of  uncontrollable  laughter 
at  the  sight  of  Injun. 

"Sufferin'  comets !"  said  Bill,  when  he  could 
get  his  breath ;  "look  who's  here !  Well,  if  thet 
ain't  a  hot  sketch,  I  never  seen  one !"  And  Bill 
again  went  off  into  another  peal  of  laughter. 
Injun  was  not  at  all  disturbed,  but  pro- 
ceeded to  take  his  seat  at  the  table  with  solemn 
dignity,  and  reach  out  for  whatever  he  saw  be- 
fore him  that  he  felt  he  would  like  to  eat. 

"Ain't  yo'  got  a  silk  hat,  Mr.  Sherwood?" 
asked  Bill,  as  well  as  he  could,  between  fits  of 
laughing.  "Ef  this  here  bird-o'-Paradise  jes' 
had  a  plug-hat  onto  him  now,  he'd  be  the  belle 
o'  the  ball  fer  fair!  Ef  them  boys  out  t'  th' 
corral  ever  gits  a  flash  at  this  here  galliwum- 
pus,  I  couldn't  git  no  work  out  'n  'em  fer  a 
week!  They'd  fall  down  on  their  face  an'  die 
235 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

a-laffin' !  An'  yet,  I  ain't  got  the  heart  t'  deny 
'em  a  peek  at  it!  He's  got  a  peacock  lookin' 
like  a  dirty  deuce  in  a  clean  deck,  an'  't  ain't 
ever'  day  the's  a  ontamed  hero  wanderin'  'round 
in  pink  pants,  makin'  his  debut  inta  sassiety, 
an'  givin'  folks  a  treat !" 

Mr.  Sherwood,  convulsed  as  he  was,  sig- 
naled to  Bill  to  let  Injun  go  through  with  it, 
and  Bill  nodded  understandingly.  He  tried  to 
finish  his  coffee,  but  another  look  at  Injun 
caused  him  to  choke  and  swallow  it  the  wrong 
way,  so  he  rose  hurriedly  from  the  table  and 
made  his  way  out  to  the  corral  as  well  as  he 
could. 

In  due  course  Injun  and  Whitey  made  their 
appearance  at  the  corral,  and  any  serious  at- 
tempt to  describe  the  scene  would  be  idle.  If  it 
had  been  any  one  but  Injun,  who  had  more 
than  ever  endeared  himself  to  the  boys  by  his 
performances  of  the  day  before,  it  is  doubtful 
if  they  would  have  ever  let  up.  Injun  took  it 
all  in  good  part,  being  supremely  satisfied  with 
himself.  Mr.  Sherwood,  however,  voiced  this 
apprehension:  "I  don't  know  as  we  ought  to 
236 


INJUN  SHIES  AT  PINK  PYJAMAS 

let  the  boy  wear  those  things  out  on  the  range 
— how  do  you  think  some  of  the  cattle  will  re- 
gard that  flaming  get-up  ?" 

"Well,"  said  Bill,  "outside  o'  them  pore, 
dumb  critters  being  plumb  scairt  t'  death  an' 
mebbe  stampedin',  I  reckon  I  wouldn't  worry 
none.  Ef  yo'  was  thinkin'  'bout  thet  Injun  kid, 
from  what  I've  saw  of  him,  I  figger  he  kin  take 
care  of  hisself  in  'bout  any  fix  he's  li'ble  to  git 
inta.  It's  them  cattle  as  has  a  worry  comin' 
to  'em!  'Tain't  playin'  square  t'  spring  no 
sech  chromatic  outrage  on  them  innercent  an* 
do-cile  animals  an5  git  'em  all  het  up  with 
runnin' !"  Bill  grinned,  and  then  added,  after 
he  had  thought  a  moment,  "Mebbe  it'd  sort  o' 
discourage  this  here  aboriginal  Aztec  from 
sportin'  them  sartorial  embellishments  'f  I  was 
t'  git  him  to  lead  out  thet  little  black  devil  of 
a  bull  inta  the  corral.  We  prob'bly  might 
mebbe  see  some  o'  them  torreador  stunts  them 
Greasers  pulls  down 't  Mexico  City !  How  'bout 
it?" 

Mr.  Sherwood  promptly  put  a  veto  on  this, 
although  there  is  little  doubt  that  Injun  would 
237 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

have  tackled  the  job,  well  knowing  the  danger 
that  it  entailed.  The  black  bull  was  bad  enough 
without  anything  to  irritate  him,  but  being  led 
by  an  Indian  in  pink  pyjamas  was  more  than 
any  self-respecting  bull  could  be  expected  to 
stand. 

And  so  it  came  about  that  Injun  wore  the 
pink  pyjamas  until  they  were  reduced  to  rags 
and  were  on  the  point  of  falling  off  of  him. 
The  flimsy  material  was  not  calculated  to  stand 
rough  usage,  and  a  few  days  sufficed.  Even 
then  it  was  only  with  the  utmost  difficulty  that 
he  was  induced  to  relinquish  them.  Only  the 
offer  by  Mr.  Sherwood  to  completely  outfit  the 
boy  had  any  effect,  and  Injun  even  hesitated 
about  this,  because  the  outfit  didn't  conform  to 
his  idea  of  a  color  scheme.  However,  once 
the  boy  got  into  the  new  clothes  and  looked  at 
himself  in  the  mirror,  he  felt  more  satisfied. 

Bill  Jordan  looked  him  over  with  undis- 
guised approbation  in  his  face;  but  he  made 
a  suggestion.  "Injun,"  he  said,  as  he  looked  at 
the  boy's  long  and  shaggy  head  of  hair,  "yo* 
ain't  aimin'  t'  be  an  understudy  fer  them  Ab- 

238 


INJUN  SHIES  AT  PINK  PYJAMAS 

solem  er  Sampson  persons,  be  yo'  ?  Ain't  yo' 
bin  playin'  hookey  from  the  barber's  fer  quite 
a  spell  ?  Looks  like  the'  might  be  mice  in  thet 
there  mane  o'  yo'r'n.  Why  don't  yo'  let  Pete 
here  operate  on  them  hirsute  hairs  an'  git  yo' 
all  manicur'd  up  proper?  I  reckon  yo'  c'd 
stand  it  'thout  takin'  gas!" 

Injun  was  of  an  accommodating  nature — the 
kind  that  will  try  anything  once;  and  as  the 
process  of  civilizing  him  had  gone  as  far  as 
it  had,  he  concluded  he  might  as  well  go  ahead 
with  it ;  and  in  a  few  moments  Pete,  the  ranch 
barber,  was  at  work  on  him.  Pete  was  not 
what  is  known  as  "a  tonsorial  artist" ;  he  was 
just  a  plain  barber,  whose  standing  as  an  ama- 
teur was  unquestioned.  His  ways  were  some- 
what primitive,  if  effective,  and  his  equipment 
consisted  of  some  sheep-shears,  a  pair  of  horse- 
clippers,  and  a  willing  disposition ;  and  with  this 
combination,  Pete  generally  managed  to  get 
most  of  the  hair  off,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that 
he  had  no  "Union  card."  He  worked  rapidly 
and  was  careful — frequently  his  "customers" 
escaped  without  the  loss  of  anything  more  than 
239 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

their  tempers,  together  with  small  pieces  of 
hide  and  an  insignificant  clipping  from  an  ear, 
which  really  amounted  to  nothing  when  their 
otherwise  improved  appearance  was  consid- 
ered. 

The  "barber-shop"  was  a  space  in  the  ranch- 
yard,  out  near  the  corral,  and  consisted  of  a 
soap-box,  on  which  the  victim  sat,  and  the 
welkin.  There  was  always  an  "audience,"  or, 
rather,  spectators,  who  stood  around  and  made 
more  or  less  facetious  comments;  but  after 
witnessing  the  performance,  it  took  consid- 
erable nerve  to  respond  to  the  call  of  "Next!" 

Injun  received  sundry  digs  and  clips,  but 
bore  them  stoically,  probably  deeming  them  a 
regular  and  usual  part  of  the  thing;  and  it  must 
be  admitted  that  his  appearance  was  decidedly 
changed — whether  for  the  better  or  not  was 
a  matter  of  debate,  as  he  stood  up  for  inspec- 
tion. 

"Well,"  said  Bill  Jordan,  as  he  looked  at  the 

boy  in  perplexity,  "mebbe,  Pete,  'f  yo'  was  t' 

use  a  ax  yo'  could  git  more  ofFn  thet  nigh 

ear'n  what  yo'  done.    Howsumever,  I  reckon; 

240 


INJUN  SHIES  AT  PINK  PYJAMAS 

yo'  massacreed  him  sufficient  as  't  is!  D'  y* 
s'pose  ef  yo'  was  to  take  a  file  yo'  c'd  mebbe 
level  off  some  o'  them  humps?" 

Then  Walker  circled  the  boy,  eying  him  crit- 
ically and  making  pitying  noises. 

"I  thought  I  seen  some  fancy  hair-cuts  in 
my  time,"  said  Walker,  "but  this  here's  got 
"em  all  faded !  Thet  kid's  nut  looks  like  it  cum 
through  a  McCormick  harvester!  Thet  red- 
skin's shore  got  a  fergivin'  disposition  er  he'd 
run  this  here  Pete  person  clear  to  Omaha — an* 
justifiable,  too!" 

"  'F  I  was  yo',  Bill,"  said  Charley  Brackett, 
"after  I  sent  fer  th'  amb'lance  and  first-aid  an* 
some  court-plaster  an'  bandages,  I'd  notufy 
congress — Indians  has  some  rights!" 

"Is  that  so!"  said  Pete.  "Mebbe  you  guys 
thinks  yo'  c'd  do  a  heap  better — yes?  I  calls 
thet  a  pretty  fair  job — considerin'.  Lemme 
tell  yo'  thet  kid's  got  hair  like  wire,  an'  a  pair 
o'  pliers  'd  be  better  'n  shears." 

"After    looking   him   over,"    said    Bill,    "I 
reckon  yo'  must  'a'  spoke  the  truth!     'T's  a 
pity  his  hide  ain't  sheet-iron,  too." 
241 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

"Well,"  said  Pete,  laughing,  "I  don't  see 
where  yo'  all  got  no  call  t'  criticize — the  kid 
ain't  sayin'  nuthin'!" 

"He  can't  see  hisself  1"  said  Bill;  "an'  mebbe 
yo're  lucky  he  can't.  Them  Injuns  is  resent- 
ful!" 

At  any  rate,  Injun  survived  the  ordeal,  and 
in  his  new  outfit,  made  quite  a  prepossessing 
figure,  notwithstanding  the  hair-cut.  He  was 
naturally  a  good-looking  boy,  and  possessed 
qualities  of  mind  and  character  that  merited  at- 
tention and  development;  and  Mr.  ^herwood 
determined  that,  if  it  were  possible,  he  would, 
one  day,  see  that  Injun  had  some  of  the  ad- 
vantages that  white  boys  enjoy. 

Not  the  least  of  Whitey's  enjoyments  was 
getting  letters  from  the  boys  back  East — 
scarcely  a  week  passed  that  Bobby  and  George, 
and  Tom  did  not  collaborate  in  a  letter 
with  plenty  of  news  about  baseball  and  the 
other  things  that  Whitey  used  to  be  interested 
in.  I  say  "used  to  be" — he  really  was  yet,  but 
in  a  secondary  way.  So  engrossing  did  he  find 
life  on  the  ranch,  that  he  had,  in  a  measure,  put 
242 


INJUN  SHIES  AT  PINK  PYJAMAS 

many  of  those  things  behind  him.  He  found 
that  riding  a  horse  and  throwing  a  lariat  and 
fishing  and  hunting  were  fully  as  interesting 
as  watching  The  Giants  and  The  Cubs,  or 
trying  to  curve  a  ball  away  from  the  plate  and 
fool  the  batter.  He  had  a  feeling — and  in  a 
sense,  he  was  right — that  the  former  were 
men's  doings,  and  that  he  was  fitting  himself 
to  be  a  man  among  these  men  about  him. 


243 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

WHITEY  HIS  OWN  BOSS 

As  the  days  went  by  Whitey  found  that  he 
had  "increased  in  wisdom  and  stature"  to  a 
considerable  degree.  Although  he  had  been 
the  strongest  boy  at  school,  he  knew  that,  after 
two  months  or  so  on  the  ranch,  he  had  not 
only  gained  remarkably  in  strength,  but  in 
agility  and  suppleness  the  gain  had  been  pro- 
portionately much  greater.  He  had  developed 
muscles  that  he  did  not  know  he  possessed,  and 
his  almost  continuous  life  in  the  open  air  had 
strengthened  his  lungs,  and  had  hardened  and 
toughened  him.  He  did  not  know  what  "a 
cold"  meant,  now;  or,  in  fact,  illness  of  any 
kind;  and  he  was  impervious  to  any  sort  of 
weather  that  had,  as  yet,  presented  itself.  In 
short,  he  fitted  into  ranch  life  like  "a  duck's 
244 


WHITEY  HIS  OWN  BOSS 

foot  in  the  mud,"  as  Bill  Jordan  expressed  it. 

"Do  you  think,  Son,  you  could  manage  to 
get  along  without  me  here  for  a  time  ?"  asked 
Mr.  Sherwood,  as  he  and  Jordan  and  the  two 
boys  sat  on  the  piazza  at  sunset,  one  evening. 

"Sure,  I  could  get  along,"  said  Whitey,  "but 
where  are  you  going?" 

"I  find  my  affairs  in  the  East  need  some  at- 
tention and  I  must  go  back,  at  least  for  a 
time.  Do  you  want  to  go  back  with  me?" 

"I  do  not!"  said  Whitey,  emphatically.  "I 
think  I  won't  ever  want  to  go  East  again!" 
Bill  Jordan  smiled  behind  his  hand. 

"How  about  seeing  your  mother  and  sisters 
and  the  boys?"  asked  Mr.  Sherwood. 

"I  want  to  see  them,  all  right;  but  what  is 
the  matter  with  bringing  them  out  here?  You 
said  you  would,  if  you  found  things  here  were 
fit  for  them,  and  it  seems  to  me  that  they  are 
fit  for  anybody!  I  don't  see  why  any  one 
should  ask  for  anything  better  than  this !" 

"I  might  bring  your  mother  and  sisters,  but 
I  don't  exactly  see  how  I  could  bring  your  boy 
friends,"  answered  his  father. 
245 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

"I  don't  see  why,"  said  Whitey.  "They'd 
all  like  it  just  as  much  as  I  do.  Don't  you 
think  their  fathers  would  let  them  come?" 

"Perhaps,  but  there  are  other  things  to  be 
considered,"  said  Mr.  Sherwood.  "However, 
we'll  see  about  it.  But  before  I  go,  I  want  to 
be  assured  of  one  thing,  and  that  is,  you  two 
boys  must  promise  to  keep  out  of  mischief.  Bill 
has  enough  to  do  without  having  to  go  and 
rescue  you  from  a  peck  of  trouble." 

"That  doesn't  mean  that  we  have  to  stay 
cooped  up  on  the  ranch  all  the  time,  does  it?" 
asked  Whitey  ruefully. 

"Considering  that  the  ranch  contains  some- 
thing like  sixty  square  miles,  that  ought  not  to 
be  a  hardship,  and  I  wouldn't  exactly  call  it 
being  'cooped  up';  but  if  you  find  that  you 
have  to  go  off  it,  go  ahead — only  don't  get 
mixed  up  with  any  more  rustlers  and  caverns ; 
and  remember,  too,  that  our  old  friend  Mr. 
Pedro  is  still  at  large.  He'll  skin  the  pair  of 
you  alive  if  he  gets  the  chance." 

"I  don't  know  whether  he  would  or  not," 
said  Whitey.  "I  think  that  in  a  fair  fight, 
246 


WHITEY  HIS  OWN  BOSS 

Injun  and  I  could  give  him  about  all  he  wanted 
to  do,  and  then  some!" 

'That's  jest  the  trouble,  Son,"  said  Bill  Jor- 
dan, "thet  skunk  don't  know  nuthin'  'bout  fight- 
in'  fair.  He'd  sneak  up  an'  bite  a  baby  while  it 
was  asleep  ef  he  could!  Ef  either  o'  you  two 
gets  yo'r  lamps  onto  his  pizen  carcass,  yo' 
both  better  empty  yo'r  Winchesters  inta  him 
an*  then  ride  away  fer  dear  life.  Thet's  th' 
only  way  to  do  'ith  him!" 

"Injun  hasn't  any  Winchester,"  said  Whitey, 
who  thought  he  saw  an  opening  whereby  his 
pal  might  get  one — and  he  was  right. 

"Better  see  if  you  can't  find  one,  Bill,  and 
let  the  boy  have  it,"  said  Mr.  Sherwood.  "I 
think  he  has  shown  that  he  can  be  trusted  with 
anything  in  the  way  of  equipment  that  any 
ranch-hand  uses.  He  is  entitled  to  about  any- 
thing that  I  can  give  him,  for  he  has  rendered 
both  Whitey  and  me  most  valuable  service,  and 
I  want  to  show  him  that  I  appreciate  it" 

"I  think  thet's  good  jedgment,  Mr.  Sher- 
wood. Them  two  boys  is  a  whole  team  an'  a 
dog  under  the  wagon,  to  boot,  but  the'  's  a  heap 
247 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

safer  with  two  guns  'n  the'  is  with  one — now 
't  they  knows  how  to  handle  'em." 

And  so  Injun  got  his  Winchester,  one  from 
the  rack  at  the  ranch-house  and,  if  possible,  he 
was  more  elated  over  its  possession  than  he 
had  been  over  the  pink  pyjamas.  With  his 
naturally  keen  eye,  developed  as  it  had  been  by 
continual  use  of  the  bow  and  arrow,  he  soon 
became  fairly  expert  in  its  use,  an  almost  un- 
limited supply  of  cartridges  which  Bill  al- 
lowed the  two  boys  contributing  to  this  end. 

When  Mr.  Sherwood  left  for  the  station  to 
take  the  train  East,  the  two  boys  on  their 
horses  accompanied  the  wagon  as  outriders. 
The  long  ride  of  twenty-two  miles  was  soon 
made,  and  at  last  the  East-bound  limited  came 
puffing  into  the  station,  Mr.  Sherwood's  bag- 
gage was  lifted  aboard. 

"Sure  you  don't  want  to  go  along?"  asked 
Mr.  Sherwood  of  Whitey,  as  he  stood  on  the 
observation-platform  of  the  rear  car. 

"Certain !"  answered  Whitey.    "I  am  hungry 
to  see  the  folks  and  the  boys,  but  I  can  wait 
until  they  come  out  here!" 
248 


WHITEY  HIS  OWN  BOSS 

"I'll  have  'em  both  ridin'  herd  by  the  time 
yo'  gets  back !"  said  Bill  as  he  looked  at  them 
proudly.  "Thet  is,"  he  added,  grinning,  "un- 
less this  here  son  o'  yo'r'n  has  got  me  workin' 
f  er  him,  an'  him  in  my  job !" 

"Not  much  danger  of  that!"  said  Whitey. 
"I  guess  it'll  be  some  time  before  I  can  do  the 
stunts  that  you  seem  to  think  are  so  easy." 

Finally,  after  the  good-bys  had  all  been 
said,  the  train  pulled  out,  and  Mr.  Sherwood 
waved  at  them  from  the  back  platform  until 
they  could  no  longer  distinguish  him,  and  the 
train  dwindled  to  a  speck  in  the  distance  finally 
disappearing  altogether.  And  Whitey  felt  a 
thrill — the  thrill  that  any  strong,  self-reliant 
boy  feels  when  he  realizes  that  he  is,  to  all 
intents  and  purposes,  his  own  master. 

"Mr.  Jordan,"  said  Whitey,  one  morning,  as 
he  met  the  latter  out  at  the  corral,  "is  it  all 
right  for  Injun  and  me  to  go  over  to  Moose 
Lake  and  camp  for  a  few  days?  He  knows 
where  he  can  get  a  canoe  there,  and  he  says 
the  fishing  is  fine." 

249 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

Bill  thought  the  matter  over  for  a  moment 
and  then  said,  smiling, 

"I  a  heap  ruther  yo'  'd  bring  the  lake  over 
here,  where  I  c'd  keep  my  eye  onto  you' !  Be- 
sides, I  don't  reckon  I'd  git  dispepsy  eatin'  the 
fish  thet  yo'  all  'd  bring  back — Moose  Lake's 
more  'n  sixty  mile  from  here !  Why  don't  yo' 
all  go  set  on  the  bank  o'  one  o'  the  branches 
an'  try  yo'r  luck?" 

"I've  tried  that,"  grinned  Whitey,  "and 
either  there  aren't  any  fish  worth  speaking 
about,  or  else  they're  educated  and  too  foxy  to 
bite." 

"Mebbe  yo'r  worm  wasn't  tryin'  his  best," 
said  Bill,  solemnly,  "The's  certain  kinds  o' 
worms  thet  jes'  nacher'ly  flirts  with  a  fish — 
sort  o'  coaxes  'em  to  cum  up  an' " 

"Yes,  I  know  all  about  that,"  laughed 
Whitey,  "but  we  haven't  time  to  send  our 
worms  to  school  to  teach  'em  to  flirt.  Besides 
flirting  isn't  proper,  even  for  a  worm.  The 
main  thing  is — may  I  go?" 

"Well,  Son,"  said  Bill,  "I  reckon  yo're  yo'r 
own  boss  now,  ain't  yo'?" 
250 


WHITEY  HIS  OWN  BOSS 

"Not  entirely,"  said  Whitey.  "I'm  willing 
to  listen  to  your  advice,  anyway." 

"Good!"  said  Bill.  "Then  I  guess  yo'  don't 
need  none.  It's  them  thet  won't  take  it  thet 
really  needs  advice.  'Bout  how  many  days  yo' 
call  <a  few'?" 

"Four  or  five,"  said  Whitey.  "I  think  that 
would  be  long  enough." 

"Coin'  to  take  a  pack-hoss  with  grub  an' 
stuff — mebbe  them  Moose  Lake  fish  is  eddi- 
cated,  too?  A  growin'  boy's  liable  t'  git  up 
condider'ble  appetite  ef  he  has  t'  go  'thout  eatin' 
f er  four  five  days !  Ef  yo'  say  so,  I'll  pack  up 
a  tin  o'  biscuit  an'  mebbe  a  can  o'  beans,  in. 
case  yo'  all  gits  tired  of  a  fish  diet." 

"That  will  be  fine,"  said  Whitey,  "tho',  may- 
be, you  better  make  it  two  cans  of  each,"  he 
added,  laughing.  "You  know  I  have  quite  an 
appetite  at  any  time — I  don't  have  to  fast  for 
four  or  five  days  to  get  one  up !" 

"So  I've  noticed,"  said  Bill.    "An'  now  thet 

yo'  'lowed  as  how  yo'  'd  take  advice,  I'm  goin' 

to  hand  out  some.    Don'  yo'  two  get  separated 

too  fur  in  thet  there  wilderness,  an'  don't  go 

251 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

messin'  'round  with  no  grizzlies  er  painters — 
the's  both  bad  animals!  I  don't  reckon  yo'll 
see  none,  f er  the's  pretty  well  cleaned  out ;  but, 
ef  yo'  see  a  grizzly,  an'  he  don't  see  you,  jes' 
nacherly  put  all  the  distance  between  you  an' 
him  thet  yo'  kin.  An'  ef  he  does  see  yo',  jes' 
drop  whatever  yo're  doin'  an'  climb  a  tree — 
don't  waste  no  time  a  tall ;  an  don't  come  down 
fer  an  hour  after  he's  left;  they  ain't  always 
gone  when  they  seem  to  be!  As  fur  's  other 
things  go,  Injun  knows  'nuff  to  pilot  yo' 
through  all  right." 

"I'll  remember,"  said  Whitey,  "and  I'll  prom- 
ise you  that  I  won't  take  any  unnecessary 
chances." 

"Good,"  said  Bill.  "I'll  have  thet  pack- 
hoss  ready  with  them  two  cans  o'  beans  onto 
him  whenever  yo're  ready  to  start.  An'  say, 
listen — don't  f ergit  to  bring  home  somethin' !" 

Whitey  promised  that  he  would,  and  turned 
away  to  tell  the  good  news  to  Injun,  who  had 
just  ridden  into  the  ranch-yard. 

The  boys  decided  that  they  would  start  as 
soon  as  the  necessary  preparations  could  be 
252 


WHITEY  HIS  OWN  BOSS 

made,  and  camp  on  the  way  for  the  night.  This 
would  bring  them  to  Moose  Lake  late  in  the 
afternoon  of  the  following  day;  and  within 
an  hour  after  his  talk  with  Bill  the  boys  rode 
out  of  the  ranch-yard,  their  Winchesters  slung 
across  their  shoulders,  and  leading  a  pack- 
horse  that  was  piled  high  with  what  Bill  called 
"a  tin  o'  biscuit  an'  a  coupla  cans  o'  beans,"  and 
were  headed  toward  the  mountains  that  looked 
so  near,  and  yet  didn't  seem  to  get  any  nearer 
as  the  boys  put  mile  after  mile  behind  them. 


253 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

MOOSE  LAKE 

Nothing  of  any  importance  happened  on  the 
ride  during  the  afternoon,  and  the  boys  de- 
termined to  get  as  far  as  possible  that  day  so 
as  to  arrive  at  the  lake  while  it  would  be  day- 
light on  the  day  following.  The  darkness  had 
settled  down  before  they  pitched  camp  near  one 
of  the  numerous  branches  in  a  hollow  that 
sheltered  them  from  the  wind.  The  work  of 
building  a  fire  was  attended  to  by  Injun,  while 
Whitey  opened  the  pack  that  contained  the  "bis- 
cuit and  beans."  It  was  not  long  before  they 
sat  by  the  glowing  fire  and  watched  the 
tempting  slices  of  bacon  as  they  frizzled  in 
the  pan,  and  sniffed  the  fragrant  coffee.  After 
a  hearty  supper  the  boys  lost  little  time  in  roll- 
ing themselves  in  their  blankets,  and  were  soon 
in  the  land  of  dreams. 
254 


MOOSE  LAKE 


It  is  doubtful  if  a  man  ever  sleeps  so  well, 
or  if  sleep  ever  does  him  so  much  good  as 
when  he  takes  it  out  in  the  open  and  upon  the 
ground.  He  seems  to  imbibe  or  absorb  some 
of  the  life-giving  elements  in  that  way,  which 
refresh  and  restore  the  tissues  far  more  than 
a  sleep  in  any  other  bed  would. 

The  two  boys  were  awake,  had  breakfasted, 
and  were  on  their  way,  almost  at  sun-up  the 
following  morning.  As  the  day  advanced,  the 
gradual  rise  in  the  ground  became  more  per- 
ceptible, and  the  mountains  began  to  come  near- 
er. The  trees  and  shrubs  became  thicker  and 
the  ground  more  rocky  and  uneven;  and  long 
before  dusk  began  to  settle  down  they  found 
themselves  on  the  shores  of  Moose  Lake,  and 
well  into  the  foothills  of  the  Rockies. 

Moose  Lake  was  a  considerable  body  of 
water,  being  perhaps  nine  or  ten  miles  in 
length,  though  its  greatest  breadth  was  not 
more  than  a  mile  and  a  half.  Its  shores  were 
rocky  and  heavily  wooded ;  in  some  places  they 
rose  high  and  precipitous  from  the  water's 
edge,  while  at  other  points  they  sloped  gradu- 
255 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

ally  down  in  sandy  beaches.  The  water  was 
clear  and  very  cold  and  in  many  places  the  bot- 
tom was  visible  at  a  depth  of  twenty  feet  or 
more. 

Injun  led  the  way  around  the  southern  end  of 
the  lake  and  toward  the  West,  for  a  couple  of 
miles,  though  the  horses  found  the  going  very 
rough  and  they  were  obliged  to  pick  their  way 
carefully  among  the  stones  that  lay  in  masses 
upon  the  steep  slope  of  the  mountain.  After 
a  time  a  small  glade  lay  before  them,  and  at 
one  end  of  it  was  a  cabin  that  evidently  was  de- 
serted, but  in  sufficiently  good  condition  to 
allow  it  to  be  inhabited,  and  to  furnish  some 
protection  against  the  weather  and  wild  ani- 
mals. Here  the  boys  proceeded  to  establish 
themselves,  and  after  unpacking  their  belong- 
ings, they  bestowed  them  in  proper  and  con- 
venient places  about  the  cabin. 

At  the  sides  of  the  cabin  were  two  sleeping- 
bunks — little  else  than  narrow  shelves ;  but  the 
boys,  taking  their  hatchets,  went  out  into  the 
thick  growth  of  pine,  and  soon  returned  with 
armfuls  of  fragrant  boughs  which  they  placed 
256 


MOOSE  LAKE 


in  the  bunks  to  a  depth  of  two  feet,  and  made 
them  comfortable.  Soon  a  fire  was  blazing  on 
the  primitive  stone  hearth,  and  the  water  boil- 
ing in  the  camp-kettle  suspended  above  it.  The 
horses  were  tethered  so  that  they  might  graze 
freely,  and  everything  made  ship-shape  for  the 
night,  though  there  was  an  hour  or  more  of 
daylight  remaining. 

"There!"  said  Whitey,  with  a  look  of  sat- 
isfaction, "this  may  not  be  quite  so  up-to-date 
as  the  ranch-house,  but  I'd  rather  be  here  than 
there." 

Injun  nodded  and  grinned  his  assent  to  this, 
but  by  the  way  he  kept  moving,  showed  that  he 
was  not  yet  through. 

"Him  get  fish  plenty  supper,"  he  said,  as  he 
got  out  some  of  the  tackle  that  Whitey  had 
brought.  Whitey  needed  no  urging,  and  fitted 
his  jointed  rod  together  and  got  out  his  book 
of  flies.  These  Injun  regarded  curiously; 
he  had  no  intention  of  fishing  himself — that 
wasn't  the  way  he  fished — but  he  wanted  to  see 
how  the  thing  worked. 

At  the  lake,  the  boys  went  along  the  edge, 
257 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

Injun  showing  the  way  until,  evidently  locat- 
ing a  mark,  he  stopped  and  scrambled  down 
to  some  rocks  that  were  over-grown  with 
brush.  Making  his  way  into  this,  he  lifted 
out  a  canoe  and  two  paddles,  much  to  the  de- 
light of  Whitey;  and  a  moment  after,  under 
the  skillful  strokes  of  Injun's  paddle,  they  were 
gliding  over  the  glassy  bosom  of  the  waters, 
with  scarcely  a  sound  or  a  ripple. 

Whitey,  sitting  in  the  bow  of  the  canoe,  put 
a  leader  and  fly  on  his  line  and  made  ready  to 
cast ;  but  Injun  shook  his  head.  He  steered  soft- 
ly near  to  where  a  huge  tree  bent  over  the 
lake,  and  stopped  the  canoe,  and  Whitey  cast 
the  line  so  that  the  fly  struck  the  water  some 
thirty  feet  away. 

Almost  at  the  instant  that  the  fly  hil! 
the  wa.ter,  it  was  snatched  under,  and  Whitey 
felt  a  tug  at  his  line  and  started  to  play  the 
fish.  He  had  learned  something  of  the  art 
when  he  had  been  in  the  Adirondacks  with  his 
father,  but  he  was  not  quite  prepared  for  any 
such  fight  as  this  fish  put  up.  It  darted  this 
way  and  that,  at  times  leaping  out  of  the  water 

258 


MOOSE  LAKE 


and  shaking  the  hook  like  a  dog  shakes  a  rat. 
But  finally,  all  his  fight  availed  the  fish  noth- 
ing; for  he  lay  in  the  bottom  of  the  canoe,  still 
making  a  few  weak  flops,  but  conquered.  In- 
jun took  a  piece  of  string,  and  tying  a  stick  to 
one  end,  he  ran  the  other  through  the  gills  of 
the  fish  and  let  him  trail  in  the  water  in  the 
wake  of  the  canoe. 

This  whole  performance  was  repeated  many 
times,  and  although  it  was  not  always  success- 
ful, two  or  three  of  the  fish  managing  to  get 
away,  when  Injun  turned  the  bow  of  the  canoe 
back  toward  the  cabin,  they  had  enough  lake- 
trout  to  satisfy  the  most  voracious  appetite. 
Injun  stowed  away  the  canoe  in  its  hiding-place, 
and  both  the  boys  threw  off  their  clothes  and 
plunged  into  the  water  to  wash. 

Injun  cleaned  the  fish,  and  rolling  them  in 
some  corn-meal  that  Bill  Jordan  had  placed 
in  the  kit  for  just  this  purpose,  they  were  soon 
frying  over  the  fire. 

"Delmonico's  chef  has  nothing  on  you,  In- 
jun," said  Whitey,  as  well  as  he  could  with  his 
mouth  full  of  trout ;  "y°u  can't  get  fish  like  this 
259 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

in  any  hotel  that  I  ever  was  in !  It  was  worth 
coming  sixty  miles  to  get  them !" 

Injun  didn't  know  who  or  what  "Delmonico's 
chef"  was,  but  he  knew  that  Whitey  intended 
to  be  complimentary,  and  grinning,  let  it  go  at 
that. 

For  a  long  time,  after  supper,  the  two  boys 
sat  before  the  fire  in  the  cabin,  listening  to  the 
night  sounds  and  planning  what  they  would 
do  on  the  morrow.  But,  at  last,  Whitey  began 
to  yawn — nobody  thinks  of  keeping  late  hours 
when  camping  in  the  mountains — and  after  the 
door  had  been  barred,  the  boys  tumbled  into 
their  beds  of  pine  boughs  and  were  asleep  in 
less  time  than  it  takes  to  tell  it,  lulled  by  the 
occasional  hoot  of  an  owl  or  the  far-away  voice 
of  a  lonesome  coyote. 

Injun  was  awakened  in  the  night  by  a 
sniffing  at  the  door,  and  he  heard  a  slight  com- 
motion among  the  horses.  He  reached  for  his 
Winchester  and  softly  opened  the  door  to  re- 
connoiter.  But  whatever  the  animal  was,  he 
had  made  off;  probably  not  liking  the  human 
scent ;  and  though  the  red  boy  kept  vigil  for  a 
260 


MOOSE  LAKE 


time,  nothing  occurred  to  disturb  the  quiet 
again,  and  he  went  back  to  his  bed  of  pine 
boughs.  Whitey  slept  through  it  all ;  so  sound- 
ly, in  fact,  that  a  regiment  of  soldiers  might 
have  marched  across  the  floor  and  he  would 
not  have  wakened. 


261 


CHAPTER  XXV 

THE  ISLAND  IN  MOOSE  LAKE 

The  fact  that  their  evening  meal  had  con- 
sisted largely  of  trout  did  not  deter  the  boys 
from  having  the  same  kind  of  a  breakfast, 
especially  as  the  "breakfast"  was  even  then 
swimming  in  the  lake  and  just  asking  to  be 
caught  and  eaten. 

So,  after  a  dip  in  the  cool  water,  Injun 
again  took  the  canoe  from  its  hiding-place 
and  sent  it  out  into  the  lake  in  the  light 
of  the  early  morning.  In  a  few  moments, 
Whitey  had  a  fine  string  of  trout  trailing  from 
the  boat,  and  decided  that  one  more  would  be 
sufficient.  The  "one  more,"  however,  proved 
to  be  a  Tartar,  and  such  was  the  fight  that  he 
put  up  that,  in  the  excitement,  the  canoe  was 
over-turned  and  both  boys  were  dumped  into 
262 


THE  ISLAND  IN  MOOSE  LAKE 

the  water .  This  made  no  particular  difference 
to  them,  and  they  were  inclined  to  regard  the 
matter  as  a  joke,  until  suddenly  Injun  said, 
"Where  him  rifle?"  Whitey  remembered  that 
the  rifle  had  been  in  the  canoe,  and  must  now 
be  posing  at  the  bottom  of  the  lake!  Indeed, 
so  clear  was  the  water,  that  it  could  be  seen 
resting  on  the  bottom,  some  twenty-five  feet 
below. 

"That's  a  pretty  good  dive,"  said  Whitey, 
"more  than  twenty  feet,  I  should  say,  though 
it  looks  much  less.  Do  you  think  we  can  make 
it?" 

Injun's  answer  was  to  duck  under  the  water 
and  force  himself  down  with  powerful  strokes; 
but  although  he  went  down  a  long  way,  he 
could  not  come  within  many  feet  of  it.  Every 
motion  that  he  made  could  be  clearly  seen,  and 
Whitey  watched  him  with  considerable  anxiety. 
At  last  he  was  forced  to  return  to  the  surface. 
Then  Whitey  went  down,  but  he  fared  no 
better;  and  after  two  or  three  more  attempts, 
the  boys  came  to  the  conclusion  that  it  would 
be  impossible  to  recover  the  rifle  in  that  way. 
263 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

"I  have  a  scheme!"  said  Whitey.  "We'll 
mark  the  spot  carefully,  then  swim  ashore  with 
the  boat,  right  it  and  come  back  and  fish  for  it 
with  a  hook  and  line." 

This  sounded  all  right  in  theory,  but  al- 
though they  "fished"  for  more  than  half  an 
hour,  they  did  nothing  more  than  move  the 
rifle,  as  it  seemed  impossible  to  get  it  hooked 
securely.  It  looked  pretty  dubious,  and  the 
boys  relaxed  their  efforts  for  a  time  and  sat 
in  the  canoe  thinking. 

"I've  read  somewhere  of  a  trick  the  pearl- 
divers  have,"  said  Whitey,  and  it  is  at  least 
worth  trying.  Paddle  back  to  the  shore,  In- 
jun." 

Injun  sent  the  canoe  to  the  rocky  shore 
with  a  few  strokes  of  his  paddle,  and  Whitey 
landed.  He  selected  a  large,  heavy  stone  and 
placed  it  in  the  canoe,  and  Injun  paddled  back 
over  the  gun.  Whitey  let  himself  over  the  side 
of  the  canoe  and  Injun  handed  him  the  stone. 
Whitey  took  a  long  breath,  and  holding  the 
stone  in  his  arms,  went  straight  down  to  the 
gun.  Seizing  it,  he  let  go  his  hold  of  the  stone, 
264 


THE  ISLAND  IN  MOOSE  LAKE 

and  rose  rapidly  to  the  top,  but  heard  a  terrific 
ringing  in  his  ears,  and  his  heart  beating  like 
a  trip-hammer.  His  chest  seemed  caving  in 
and  he  was  completely  exhausted  and  hardly 
able  to  hang  onto  the  canoe.  Injun  took  the 
rifle,  and  paddled  back  to  the  shore;  and  for 
several  minutes,  Whitey  lay  upon  the  bank 
until  he  had  recovered  his  breath.  Injun  saw 
that  he  was  coming  around  all  right,  and  then 
he  carefully  wiped  and  cleaned  the  rifle. 

"Pearl-diving  may  be  all  right,  for  those 
that  like  it ;  but  I  never  saw  a  pearl  I'd  go  down 
that  far  after !"  said  Whitey,  as  he  rose  to  his 
feet,  a  little  unsteady  at  first,  and  made  his  way 
to  the  cabin. 

Injun  cooked  the  breakfast,  and  Whitey  was 
as  good  as  ever,  under  the  influence  of  trout, 
bacon,  and  coffee,  and  eager  to  carry  out  the 
plans  they  had  made  for  the  day. 

There  was  a  large  island  at  the  other  end  of 

the  lake  that  Injun  said  abounded  in  berries 

and  various  water- fowl;  and  as  either  of  these 

would  make  a  welcome  addition  to  the  menu, 

265 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

besides  gratifying  a  taste  for  exploration,  the 
boys  determined  to  visit  it. 

Whitey  tried  his  hand  at  paddling;  and, 
under  Injun's  tutelage,  he  quickly  got  "the  hang 
of  it" — at  least,  so  that  he  could  keep  the  canoe 
in  a  fairly  straight  line.  But  to  be  able  to  send 
it  swiftly  through  the  water  without  a  sound 
and  scarcely  a  ripple,  requires  long  practice. 

After  paddling  for  a  couple  of  miles,  it  was 
evident,  however,  that  it  would  take  about  all 
day  for  them  to  arrive  at  the  island,  if  Whitey 
continued  to  furnish  the  motive  power,  and 
laughingly  suggested  that  he  was  perfectly 
willing  to  let  Injun  do  the  paddling  and 
suggested  that  they  change  seats.  He  rose 
in  the  canoe  to  effect  this,  but  Injun  vetoed 
this  emphatically.  He  reached  for  the  pad- 
dle, which  Whitey  handed  to  him,  and  In- 
jun simply  turned  the  canoe  around,  and  thus 
sat  in  the  stern,  the  canoe  being  shaped  simi- 
larly at  both  ends.  Whitey  smiled :  "There  are 
more  ways  than  one  of  skinning  a  cat !"  he  re- 
marked, chagrined  at  having  failed  to  notice 
such  a  simple  and  evident  thing. 
266 


THE  ISLAND  IN  MOOSE  LAKE 

"I  guess,  Injun,"  he  said,  "I'm  a  good  deal 
like  the  man  who  cut  two  holes  in  the  barn 
door — a  big  one  for  the  big  cat,  and  a  little 
one  for  the  little  cat!  He  and  I  would  make 
a  good  team  of  managers !" 

Under  the  powerful  and  skillful  strokes  of 
Injun's  paddle — Whitey  took  the  other  paddle 
and  tried  to  help,  but  finally  put  it  away  as  he 
felt  that  he  wasn't  of  a  great  deal  of  assistance 
— the  canoe  soon  scraped  on  the  gravelly  beach 
of  the  island.  Injun  lifted  the  canoe  out  of  the 
water  and  placed  it  high  and  dry  on  the  bank ; 
and,  taking  their  rifles,  the  boys  struck  out  into 
the  dense  woods  that  covered  the  island. 


267 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

THE   MAN    ON    THE   ISLAND 

All  that  Injun  had  said  or  intimated  about 
the  island  was  more  than  justified  by  the  actu- 
ality. It  rose  to  a  peak  at  the  center,  but  was 
filled  with  gorges  and  small  canyons,  and  there 
were  two  or  three  little  streams  that  splashed 
and  rippled  their  way  down  to  the  lake.  There 
were  no  trails,  and  had  Whitey  been  alone,  he 
would  have  found  great  difficulty  in  retracing 
his  steps  to  the  point  where  they  had  landed, 
except  by  making  his  way  to  the  lake  and  fol- 
lowing the  edge  until  he  came  to  the  spot. 

For  several  hours  they  rambled  over  the 
island,  ate  their  fill  of  the  luscious  wild  blue- 
berries that  grew  in  profusion,  but  failed  to 
bring  down  any  of  the  wild  ducks  that  swam 
about  the  bays  and  inlets,  although  they  fired  at 
them  several  times. 

268 


THE  MAN  ON  THE  ISLAND 

As  they  skirted  the  northern  end  of  the 
island,  high  up  on  the  rocky  and  precipitous 
bank,  they  came  upon  a  cabin.  Whitey  was  for 
advancing  at  once  and  investigating  it,  but 
Injun  held  him  back — it  was  part  of  Injun's 
policy  never  to  rush  blindly  into  a  strange  sit- 
uation, and  never  to  take  anything  for  granted. 
From  the  thick  underbrush  that  concealed  them, 
Injun  examined  the  place  carefully  for  at  least 
five  minutes  before  he  ventured  to  come  cau- 
tiously out  of  cover  and  approach  the  cabin. 
Even  then,  he  advanced  with  great  caution  and 
without  making  a  sound. 

It  may  seem  that  in  exercising  such  extreme 
caution,  Injun  was,  perhaps,  over-doing  it ;  but 
as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  boy  was  right.  It  will 
be  remembered  that  he  was  a  wild  thing,  and 
brought  up  in  the  wilds,  where  a  good  deal  de- 
pends upon  caution  and  vigilance.  It  is  the 
way  of  wild  animals,  except  possibly  those 
which  fear  nothing,  or  those  that  are  notably 
stupid,  to  ponder  a  strange  situation  very  care- 
fully before  rushing  into  it. 

Many  of  them  will  assure  themselves  of  a 

269 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

way  to  get  out  as  well  as  to  get  in;  and  if  the 
matter  is  at  all  mysterious  and  not  under- 
standable, will  avoid  it  altogether  unless  driven 
by  extreme  hunger.  Wild  men  and  wild  ani- 
mals are  suspicious  of  everything — a  strange 
noise,  a  strange  scent,  or  a  strange  circum- 
stance, in  the  wilderness  calls  for  investigation. 
Frequently,  this  extreme  caution  is  the  price  of 
life,  either  to  man  or  to  beast,  and  both  know 
this  and  proceed  accordingly. 

A  very  slight  thing  had  aroused  Injun's  sus- 
picion. Whitey  had  not  noticed  it,  at  all.  Be- 
fore the  door  of  the  cabin  were  two  or  three 
small,  freshly-cut  chips.  Freshly-cut  chips  in- 
dicated recent  human  presence  beyond  any 
doubt.  It  would  be  better  to  know  who  the 
human  was  and  whether  he  was  at  home  before 
making  their  own  presence  known.  The  island 
was  not  a  place  for  tourists,  being  far  off  the 
track  that  such  people  usually  take;  nor  was 
the  person,  whoever  he  might  turn  out  to  be, 
a  permanent  resident.  Injun  had  been  over 
the  island  many  times  in  the  past  spring  and 
for  two  or  three  years  before,  and  was  thor- 
270 


THE  MAN  ON  THE  ISLAND 

oughly  familiar  with  it;  in  fact,  he  had  occu- 
pied the  cabin  on  the  occasion  of  his  last  visit. 
He  remembered  exactly  how  he  had  left  the 
place,  and  could  see,  very  plainly,  that  some  one 
had  succeeded  him.  He  remembered  that  he 
had  left  the  door  open,  but  it  was  now  closed 
— animals  or  winds  seldom  close  doors,  espe- 
cially doors  that  are  hung  on  leather  hinges 
and  have  to  be  pushed  along  the  floor. 

Injun  circled  the  cabin,  leaving  Whitey  still 
concealed  in  the  underbrush.  At  one  point, 
Injun  saw  that  fire-wood  had  been  recently 
gathered  and  there  were  foot-prints  in  the 
damp  earth  made  by  high-heeled  boots.  This 
was  proof  positive — if  any  further  proof  was 
needed  than  that  which  Injun  already  had.  He 
glided  noiselessly  to  the  wall  of  the  cabin  at 
the  rear,  and  peeked  through  the  chinks  in  the 
wall.  He  could  see  that  there  was  no  one  in 
the  cabin,  and  he  came  around  to  the  side  where 
Whitey  was.  He  called  to  him,  and  both  boys 
entered. 

There  had  been  a  fire  upon  the  hearth  a  few 
hours  before,  and  the  sleeping  bunk  was  filled 
271 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

with  fir  boughs.  Nothing  in  the  cabin  indi- 
cated the  identity  of  the  occupant,  however,  and 
he  seemed  to  have  no  extra  clothes  or  the  usual 
conveniences  that  a  camper  would  be  likely  to 
bring. 

"What's  all  this  about?"  asked  Whitey, 
smiling  rather  tolerantly.  "I  don't  see  any- 
thing so  mysterious  in  finding  that  a  man  has 
been  here.  Why  shouldn't  anybody  come  that 
wants  to?  We  don't  own  the  island!" 

Injun  shrugged  his  shoulders,  and  kept  his 
own  counsel;  but  it  was  very  plain  that  he 
was  not  satisfied  with  things.  He  didn't  like 
being  on  the  island  with  a  strange  man,  and 
not  know  who  the  man  was.  He  was  "from 
Missouri,"  so  to  speak. 

They  left  the  cabin,  Injun  being  careful  to 
disturb  nothing,  and  to  close  the  door;  and 
took  pains  to  leave  no  mark  of  their  visit. 

The  boys  skirted  the  western  side  of  the 
island  on  their  way  back,  and  Injun  set  a  rather 
fast  pace.  He  was  careful,  too,  to  move  with 
as  little  noise  as  possible  and  to  avoid  leaving 
mere  of  a  trail  than  was  necessary.  Those 
272 


THE  MAN  ON  THE  ISLAND 

things  are  simply  second-nature  to  an  Indian 
when  he  is  in  any  doubt  about  his  environment. 

At  length,  the  boys  arrived  at  the  lake  at  the 
point  where  they  had  left  the  canoe.  They 
made  their  way  cautiously  through  the  thick 
brush,  but  as  they  reached  the  water's  edge, 
they  could  see  that  the  canoe  was  gone !  A  hur- 
ried but  thorough  search,  failed  to  reveal  it. 
The  boys  were  alone  on  the  island,  with  a  man 
who,  perhaps,  was  not  their  friend ! 

"Well,  what  do  you  know  about  that  ?"  said 
Whitey,  in  dismay.  "It  must  be  the  man  who 
lives  in  the  cabin  who  has  taken  our  canoe!" 


273 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

A  DANGEROUS  SITUATION 

IT  was  a  little  more  than  half  a  mile  to  the 
mainland,  although  the  boys  had  left  their 
horses  at  the  camp  some  distance  further  up 
the  shore,  and  twilight  was  closing  in  fast, 
leaving  little  time  for  deliberation.  Whitey 
put  it  up  to  Injun:  "What  shall  we  do — stay 
here  or  swim  for  it  ?  It  seems  to  me  we  better 
go  back  to  the  cabin  at  the  other  end  of  the 
lake  and  make  this  fellow  give  up  what  he  has 
taken,"  said  Whitey,  tentatively. 

Injun  shook  his  head.  "Him  gone,"  he  said, 
positively.  "Him  cow-puncher,"  he  added, 
pointing  to  the  heel-marks  on  the  beach.  The 
marks  had  undoubtedly  been  made  by  boots 
such  as  cow-men  wear;  no  woodsman  would 
ever  think  of  wearing  such  things  in  the  forest. 

"Well,"  said  Whitey,  "I  guess  that  means 
274 


A  DANGEROUS  SITUATION 

we  got  to  swim !  I'm  with  you  whatever  you 
decide."  This  would  have  been  a  most  difficult 
and  hazardous  undertaking,  encumbered  as 
they  were  by  rifles  and  clothes,  and  handi- 
capped by  the  darkness. 

Motioning  Whitey  to  follow  him,  Injun 
started  along  the  water's  edge  and  collected 
several  small  logs,  most  of  them  half  rotted  and 
stripped  of  their  branches,  and  which,  by  their 
combined  strength  the  two  boys  were  able  to 
move.  Then  Injun  went  back  into  the  woods 
and  returned  with  an  armful  of  tough,  pliant 
vines  and  bound  the  logs  together  in  the  form 
of  a  rude  raft.  It  was  no  easy  job,  and  by 
the  time  the  raft  was  completed,  it  was  pitch 
dark. 

"Not  much  of  a  boat,"  said  Whitey,  "but  it 
beats  swimming  in  the  cold  water  all  hollow !" 

A  couple  of  sticks,  to  which  Injun  bound 
some  leafy  branches,  served  as  paddles,  and  the 
boys  prepared  to  start. 

One  trial  sufficed  to  demonstrate  that  the 
raft  would  not  carry  both  boys,  and  Injun 
quickly  divested  himself  of  his  clothes  and 
275 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

rolled  them  into  a  bundle  and  handed  them  to- 
gether with  his  rifle  to  Whitey,  who  was  hav- 
ing his  own  troubles  trying  to  keep  afloat. 

"Here,"  said  Whitey,  "I  don't  know  why 
you  should  do  all  the  hard  work!  Maybe  we 
both  better  swim  back  of  the  raft  and  put  our 
clothes  and  rifles  on  it?" 

Injun  shook  his  head,  and  gently  pushed  the 
raft  with  Whitey  on  it  into  deeper  water. 
Whitey  found  some  difficulty  in  using  the  pad- 
dle, as  the  slightest  tip  sent  the  logs  awash; 
but  after  a  few  moments,  he  got  the  hang  of  it, 
and  progress  became  easier,  though  by  no 
means  very  rapid. 

"Say,  Injun,"  said  Whitey,  after  they  had 
proceeded  for  some  distance,  "you're  headed  in 
the  wrong  direction!  We  left  the  horses  up 
that  way — toward  the  end  of  the  lake.  You're 
going  to  land  way  below." 

Injun  nodded,  as  though  he  knew  what  he 
was  doing,  and  made  no  change  in  his  course. 
This  he  laid  by  the  silhouette  of  the  trees  on  the 
mainland,  as  the  night  was  almost  pitch  dark, 
and  only  the  faint  lighter  tint  of  the  sky  was 
276 


A  DANGEROUS  SITUATION 

visible  above  the  line  of  their  tops.  The  ever- 
cautious  Injun  seldom  believed  in  going 
straight  to  his  objective,  but  preferred  to  come 
to  it  in  a  somewhat  roundabout  way,  and  there- 
fore, an  unexpected  way.  If  the  enemy  expects 
that  you  will  approach  him  from  the  south,  and 
you  actually  come  from  the  north,  you  have 
just  that  much  advantage.  It  is  he  who  will 
be  surprised,  not  you. 

Suddenly  Injun  stopped  swimming  and  list- 
ened ;  but  before  he  could  give  a  warning  sig- 
nal, a  dark  object  ranged  alongside  of  the  raft, 
and  a  light  from  a  quickly  uncovered  lantern 
flashed  in  Whitey's  face,  and  the  boy  looked 
down  the  muzzle  of  a  Colt  forty-five  less  than 
six  feet  away. 

"Foot  up  ze  han's !"  said  a  menacing  voice, 
and  Whitey  complied  without  any  objection, 
though  in  doing  so,  the  raft  tilted  alarmingly 
and  the  water  swept  over  it,  first  this  way 
and  then  the  other ;  and  that  discomfiture  might 
be  complete,  both  the  rifles  and  Injun's  clothes 
slid  from  the  raft  and  settled  into  the  depths 
below!  Fortunately,  the  clothes  and  the  two 
277 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

rifles  were  at  one  side  and  a  little  behind 
Whitey  on  the  raft,  and  not  in  the  range  of 
Pedro's  vision.  If  he  had  seen  them  he  would 
have  known  that  he  had  to  deal  with  two  boys 
instead  of  one.  But  Pedro  did  see  the  raft  tilt, 
and  he  realized  that  Whitey  was  helpless. 

A  mocking  laugh  came  from  the  canoe,  and 
the  voice  continued:  "Ah,  zis  ees  too  much 
lucky!  Again  I  meet  my  yo'ng  frien'  what 
geeve  me  such  keeck  in  ze  belly  an'  rap  on  my 
haid  wiz  steek  at  ze  Croix  an'  Cercl' !  I  haf ' 
not  forget — no,  no!  How  yo'  lik'  tak'  nize 
bath  wiz  ze  feesh  in  lak'?  Huh?"  Straining 
his  eyes  and  peering  into  the  darkness  back  of 
the  lantern,  Whitey  saw  the  grinning  face  of 
Pedro. 

Whitey  did  some  rapid  thinking.  It  was 
evident  that  Pedro  believed  him  to  be  alone, 
as  the  latter  kept  his  eyes  on  him  and  did  not 
seek  to  find  his  companion.  Pedro  had  evi- 
dently found  the  canoe  where  Injun  had  drawn 
it  up  on  the  bank  and  for  some  reason  had  gone 
back  to  his  cabin  before  starting  for  the  main- 
land. The  southern  end  of  the  lake  was  some- 

278 


A  DANGEROUS  SITUATION 

what  bare  of  tall  timber,  and  it  was  probable 
that  Pedro's  attention  had  been  attracted  bj  the 
splashing  of  Whitey's  improvised  paddle,  and 
had  been  able  to  make  out  his  figure  against  the 
lighter  background  of  the  sky.  At  any  rate,  no 
matter  how  Pedro  had  discovered  the  raft,  the 
fact  remained  that  he  had  discovered  it,  and 
now  had  both  boys  in  a  most  precarious  situa- 
tion. 

Whitey's  only  hope  lay  in  the  probable  over- 
looking of  Injun,  and  he  felt  that  this  circum- 
stance might,  in  some  way,  turn  the  tables  in 
their  favor,  provided  Pedro  did  not  make  an 
end  of  him  immediately.  There  was  no  doubt 
in  Whitey's  mind  that  Pedro  meant,  eventually 
to  kill  him,  but  seemed  to  be  in  no  hurry,  pre- 
ferring to  taunt  the  boy  and  to  gloat  over  his 
apprehension,  and  thus  make  his  revenge  as 
frightful  as  possible.  He  calculated  his  chances 
of  throwing  himself  from  the  raft,  but  knew 
that  Pedro  would  fire  before  he  could  possibly 
accomplish  this.  Nor  could  he  make  a  jump  at 
the  menacing  muzzle  of  the  revolver,  for  the 
279 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

raft  afforded  a  most  unstable  and  slippery  take- 
off for  a  leap  of  any  kind. 

All  these  things  ran  through  Whitey's  mind 
with  lightning  rapidity,  and  the  boy  came  to  the 
determination  that  the  best  thing  he  could  do, 
under  all  the  circumstances,  was  to  sit  still  and 
await  developments.  He  dared  not  look  around 
for  Injun,  feeling  that  it  might  indicate  to  the 
desperado  the  presence  of  a  third  party;  and 
this  would  be  fatal;  for  Pedro  would  imme- 
diately finish  him  to  reduce  the  odds  against 
him.  He  also  felt  that  any  parley  might  either 
throw  Pedro  off  his  guard  and  give  Injun  time 
to  act. 

"Hello,  Pedro!"  said  Whitey,  summoning 
all  his  self-control,  and  grinning  pleasantly;  "I 
don't  think  I  need  any  bath  to-night,  with  the 
fish !  I  had  one  this  morning !" 

"Yo'  go  'n  haf  nize,  long  bath,  jes'  ze  sam' ! 
Yo'  go'n'  mak'  nize  dinner  fo'  ze  feeshes — 
whan  Pedro  get  fro'  wiz  yo' !  Yo'  haf  planty 
fun  wiz  Pedro,  one  time!  Now  Pedro's  turn 
haf  planty  fun  wiz  yo' !  Feeshes  haf  planty 
fun,  too!  Yes!  Yo'  fodder  come  hunt  an* 
280 


A  DANGEROUS  SITUATION 

don't  nevaire  fin*  yo'  someplace  nowhere !  Zen 
mebbe  Pedro  get  heem,  too!  Mebbe  Mistaire 
Beeg  Beel  Jordan — Pedro  get  heem,  too !  By 
gar!  An'  yo'  nize,  leetle  frien'  Injun-boy — 
Pedro  cut  heem  een  leetle  pieces — mebbe  cook 
heem  an'  roas'  heem  by  fire!  How  yo'  lik', 
huh?" 

"What'll  they  all  be  doing  when  you  are  pull- 
ing this  off?"  asked  Whitey,  grinning,  in  re- 
spite of  his  desperate  situation. 

"Nev'  min' — zey  do  sam'  lik'  yo'  go'n'  do! 
Yo'  lik'  say  yo'  prayer?  Le's  hear  yo'  say  yo' 
prayer,  'fore  yo'  go  down  see  feeshes!"  taunt- 
ed Pedro.  "Mebbe  yo'  lik'  sen'  som'  message 
far' well  to  yo'  fodder?" 

Whitey  made  no  answer,  but  he  kept  up  con- 
siderable thinking.  There  did  not  seem  to  be 
any  opportunity  for  him  to  make  a  move  with 
the  slightest  chance  of  success,  and  the  horror 
of  the  thing  was  beginning  to  get  on  his  nerves. 
Whitey  was  a  very  brave  boy,  but  it  would  try 
any  one's  courage  to  face  this  sort  of  a  situa- 
tion. Pedro  saw  that  his  taunts  and  frightful 
281 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

threats  were  having  some  effect,  and  he  started 
to  apply  himself  to  the  torture  with  glee. 

"Ah  Haaah!"  he  gloated,  with  a  savage 
leer.  "Mebbe  yo'  lik' " 

Whatever  it  was  that  Pedro  thought  Whitey 
would  like  will  never  be  known,  for  a  most 
surprising  thing  happened ;  probably  more  sur- 
prising to  Mr.  Pedro  than  even  jtoJWhitey.  His 
canoe  gave  a  sudden  and  violent  turn,  and 
Pedro,  who  was  crouched  in  the  bow  in  a  half 
standing  position,  holding  the  lantern  in  front 
of  him  with  one  hand,  and  the  revolver  in  the 
other,  was  pitched  head-over-heels  into  the 
water,  but  not  before  the  pistol  had  been  dis- 
charged. The  bullet  went  wide,  and  probably 
the  firing  of  the  revolver  was  involuntary  and 
caused  by  the  sudden  upsetting  of  the  man 
when  he  had  his  finger  on  the  trigger. 

"Good  old  Injun!"  yelled  Whitey,  exultant- 
ly, and  he  leaped  from  the  raft  at  the  spot 
where  Pedro  had  gone  down. 

The  keen  sense  of  hearing  that  Injun  pos- 
sessed had  warned  him  of  the  approach  of  the 
canoe  in  the  darkness,  but  before  he  had  a 
282 


A  DANGEROUS  SITUATION 

chance  to  warn  Whitey  or  to  take  any  meas- 
ures himself,  the  canoe  was  upon  them;  and 
Injun  loosed  his  hold  of  the  raft  and  sank 
silently  beneath  the  surface  of  the  water  and 
swam  a  short  distance  away  before  coming  to 
the  top  toward  the  stern  of  the  canoe.  He  kept 
his  eyes  and  ears  above  the  surface  by  tread- 
ing water,  and  heard  the  conversation;  and 
aided  by  the  fact  that  Pedro  prolonged  it  for 
the  purpose  of  torturing  his  victim,  he  was 
able  to  form  his  plan. 

Sinking  again  below  the  water,  he  swam  to 
the  left  side  of  the  canoe,  and  at  the  moment 
he  believed  Pedro  to  be  in  the  most  unfavorable 
position  and  off  his  guard,  he  clutched  the  side 
of  the  canoe  and  gave  it  a  violent  tug.  It  is  not 
much  of  a  trick  to  upset  a  canoe — Whitey  al- 
ways claimed  that  he  had  to  part  his  hair  in 
the  middle  to  keep  one  balanced — and  the  yank 
that  Injun  gave  the  canoe  would  have  upset  a 
good  sized  yawl. 

Pedro,  taken  entirely  unawares,  let  go  of  the 
lantern  and  revolver,  and  both  went  to  the  bot- 
tom. He  was  a  most  indifferent  swimmer,  and 

283 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

instead  of  swimming  under  water  and  trying1 
to  avoid  the  two  boys,  he  strove  to  come  to  the 
top  as  quickly  as  he  could  and  get  rid  of  a 
large  portion  of  the  lake  that  he  had  involun- 
tarily swallowed.  But  in  this  he  was  not  alto- 
gether successful.  The  moment  he  had  gone 
over-board,  Injun  had  gone  under  after  him, 
and  Whitey's  leap  had  landed  the  boy  directly 
on  top  of  him  just  as  he  got  his  head  partially 
out  of  the  water  and  before  he  had  time  to  take 
a  breath,  and  under  he  went,  spluttering  and 
gasping  and  in  a  panic.  Against  two  such 
swimmers  as  Injun  and  Whitey,  the  man  did 
not  have  a  Chinaman's  chance.  Injun  had  him 
by  the  legs,  and  Whitey  had  his  arms  about  his 
neck,  with  a  grip  on  his  wind-pipe;  and  the 
more  he  struggled  and  struck  and  kicked  at 
the  boys,  the  more  exhausted  he  became  and 
the  weaker  was  his  resistance.  It  is  probable 
that  he  would  have  been  glad  to  surrender,  but 
was  in  no  position  to  say  so.  And  it  is  doubtful 
if  the  boys  would  have  listened  to  any  proposi- 
tion in  regard  to  an  "armistice."  They  had 
him,  and  they  knew  it!  If  anybody  was  going 
284 


A  DANGEROUS  SITUATION 

to  furnish  a  "nize,  leetle  dinner  for  ze  feeshes/' 
it  would  be  Pedro ! 

Soon,  his  struggles  grew  weaker  and  weaker, 
and,  finally,  relaxed  altogether;  and  it  was  a 
pretty  thoroughly  drowned  Pedro  that  they 
held  up  in  the  water  at  last. 

"See  if  you  can  find  the  canoe  and  the  raft," 
said  Whitey,  when  he  had  got  his  breath.  "I'll 
hold  him  up  while  you  get  them." 

"Whaffor?"  asked  Injun.  "You  swim,  me 
swim,  him  swim!  Him  feed  feeshes!" 

"Nothing  doing !"  said  Whitey.  "This  is  too 
good  a  chance — we'll  bring  him  back  to  the 
ranch !" 

Whitey  was  "the  boss,"  as  Injun  had  de- 
clared long  ago;  and  Injun  swam  about  in 
widening  circles  until  he  came  upon  the  raft. 
The  canoe  had  either  sunk  or  had  drifted  away. 

Injun  pushed  the  raft  back  to  where  Whitey 
held  the  unconscious  man  up  and  between  them, 
they  managed  to  slide  him  onto  it,  although  it 
was  considerable  of  a  job,  handicapped  as  they 
were  by  the  darkness.  But,  at  last,  it  was  ac- 
complished, and  although  Pedro  was  plainly 
285 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

"all  in,"  Whitey  took  the  precaution  of  tieing 
his  hands  with  a  belt  which  the  man  wore. 

The  weight  of  the  fellow  made  the  frail  raft 
more  unstable  and  "unseaworthy"  than  ever, 
and  it  required  a  good  deal  of  management  to 
keep  him  on  it. 

"Look  out!"  said  Whitey,  as  the  raft  tilted 
at  a  dangerous  angle,  "he's  sliding  off !"  And 
by  a  desperate  effort,  Whitey  righted  the  logs 
and  kept  Pedro  on  it. 

"Me  should  worry!"  said  Injun,  who  was 
becoming  educated.  In  fact,  the  whole  proceed- 
ing was  entirely  foreign  to  Injun's  ideas  of 
how  to  treat  an  enemy,  and  if  it  had  been  left 
to  him,  he  would  have  tied  a  rock  around 
Pedro's  neck  to  insure  that  he  went  straight 
down  to  "Davey  Jones'  Locker."  Injun  could 
not  see  any  reason  for  taking  so  much  trouble 
to  save  the  life  of  a  man  who  would  inevitably 
be  hung  or  lynched.  And,  for  the  matter  of 
that,  other  people  than  Injun  have  had  the  same 
feeling ! 


286 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

A  PENITENT  PRISONER 

BY  the  time  the  raft  grated  on  the  peb- 
bles of  the  mainland  the  moon  had  begun 
to  show  over  the  horizon,  and  its  light  dis- 
sipated some  of  the  difficulties  that  confronted 
the  boys  in  their  undertaking.  They  rolled 
Pedro  onto  the  beach  with  difficulty,  and  sat 
down  beside  him  for  a  moment  to  rest. 

The  prisoner  began  to  show  some  signs  of 
coming  to,  and  Injun  was  for  taking  a  huge 
rock  and  preventing  any  return  to  conscious- 
ness by  banging  the  man  on  the  head  with  it. 
Whitey  prevented  this,  however;  but  he  as- 
sured himsel  f  that  Pedro  was  securely  tied.  By 
means  of  some  tough,  but  pliable  vines  that  In- 
jun got  from  the  brush  near  at  hand,  he  not 
only  bound  Pedro's  hands  behind  his  back,  but 

287 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

hobbled  him  so  that  he  could  take  a  step  of  not 
more  than  a  foot  in  length.  In  addition  to  this, 
he  put  a  slip-noose  about  the  man's  neck  with 
a  long  leash;  and  having  Pedro  thus  trussed 
up,  he  awaited  his  returning  consciousness  with 
some  interest. 

The  outlaw  took  several  short,  gasping 
breaths,  each  longer  than  the  other,  and  at  last, 
his  eye-lids  trembled  and  then  opened,  and  he 
looked  at  the  two  boys  beside  him.  It  took  him 
a  moment  to  realize  his  situation.  When  he 
did,  it  was  evident  that  he  did  not  enjoy  it, 
and  he  looked  malevolently  at  the  boys.  Injun 
brandished  a  huge  club  that  he  picked  up 
nearby. 

"Had  a  'nize,  leetle'  nap,  didn't  you,  Pedro!" 
said  Whitey,  imitating  Pedro's  taunting  tone. 
"That  dinner  for  'ze  feeshes'  had  to  be  post- 
poned, didn't  itl  Now,  maybe  you'd  like  to 
say  a  few  prayers  ?  How  about  it  ?" 

Pedro  decided  upon  other  tactics:  "Pedro 
jus'  play  jok'  on  nize,  leetle  boys!  Pedro  not 
hurt  nize  boys!" 

"I  know  blame  well  you  won't,"  said  Whitey, 
288 


A  PENITENT  PRISONER 

"for  the  simple  reason  that  you  can't!  You're 
going  to  be  Ver'  nize'  from  now  on !  Nice  and 
gentle!  Come  on,"  he  said,  rising,  "you  are 
due  for  a  nice  long  walk  back  to  the  ranch — 
it's  only  sixty  miles  and  there's  a  hearty  wel- 
come waiting  for  you  there — your  old  friend 
Bill  Jordan  will  be  mighty  glad  to  see  you !" 

Pedro  studied  Whitey's  face  with  his  black, 
evil  eyes.  "Sure !"  he  said,  "I  go — be  ver'  nize ! 
Yo*  ontie  Pedro's  foots  so  he  walk !" 

"Sure!"  said  Whitey,  "I'm  full  of  those 
tricks!  I'll  untie  your  feet — when  we  get  to 
the  ranch!  Get  a  move  on!" 

Pedro  rose  to  his  feet  and  started  off  as  well 
as  the  hobble  would  let  him,  but  made  rather 
a  poor  job  of  walking  over  the  rough  ground 
in  the  semi-darkness.  He  made  another  ap- 
peal to  have  the  hobble  removed,  but  he 
abandoned  any  further  effort  in  that  direction 
when  Whitey  said,  "Injun,  if  he  turns  around 
again  or  makes  any  bluff  at  falling  down  or  not 
being  able  to  walk,  you  just  belt  him  one  over 
the  head  with  that  club  and  see  if  it  doesn't 
help  him  to  walk  better!" 
289 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

"Me  soak  'em!"  said  Injun,  eagerly,  and  he 
gripped  the  club;  he  evidently  didn't  see  the 
use  of  waiting  until  Pedro  did  any  of  these 
forbidden  things,  but  was  willing  to  hit  him 
now  and  let  him  disobey  the  rules  afterward. 

"  'T  won't  do  to  muss  him  up  too  much," 
protested  Whitey.  "The  boys  at  the  ranch 
will  want  to  hang  a  whole  man,  not  a  half 
of  one;  and  if  you  ever  land  on  him  with  that 
club,  we'll  have  to  bury  him  right  here !" 

Injun  indicated  that  such  a  proceeding 
wouldn't  be  any  trouble  at  all  to  him,  but 
Whitey  said  it  would  take  too  long  as  they 
didn't  have  a  spade!  What  Pedro  thought 
about  it  is  not  recorded. 

After  a  considerable  time  and  in  spite  of 
numberless  difficulties — Injun,  being  without 
any  clothes  whatever,  suffered  somewhat  from 
the  briars  and  rough  vines  and  branches — the 
strange  procession  arrived  at  the  glade  where 
the  horses  had  been  left,  and  found  that  the 
animals  were  still  there.  And  while  it  would 
have  done  Pedro  good  to  have  been  compelled 
fo  walk  back  to  the  Bar  O  ranch,  yet  Whitey 
290 


A  PENITENT  PRISONER 

figured  that  it  would  delay  them  unnecessarily, 
and,  therefore,  he  decided  to  tie  the  gentle- 
man on  the  pack-horse.  To  do  this,  it  would 
be  necessary  to  untie  the  hobbles  that  limited 
Pedro's  leg-action,  and  the  vine  was  according- 
ly cut,  releasing  his  legs,  while  Injun  stood  over 
him  with  the  club,  ready  to  "soak  'em"  at  the 
first  move.  Whitey  looked  at  the  gleaming 
bronze  skin  of  Injun  and  asked,  "Aren't  you 
cold,  Injun  ?"  Injun  disclaimed  any  such  feel- 
ing contemptuously. 

"I  thought,"  said  Whitey,  "that  as  long  as 
we  had  his  legs  untied,  you  might  want  a  pair 
of  pants?" 

Injun  experienced  a  startling  reversal  of 
form:  "Ugh!  Injun  heap  cold!"  he  said  with 
a  tremendous  show  of  shivering.  And  accord- 
ingly the  transfer  was  made,  although  Pedro 
put  up  an  awful  fuss,  which  was  entirely  futile. 
True,  the  trousers  were  not  a  perfect  fit,  and 
they  were  very  wet  and  soggy ;  but  they  were  a 
pair  of  trousers,  and  Injun  was  not  particular. 

After  drawing  them  on,  he  proceeded  to 
investigate  the  pockets,  and  took  therefrom 
291 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

a  very  sizable  roll  of  bills  and  several  water- 
soaked  documents.  There  was  not  sufficient 
time  or  light  to  investigate  the  character  of 
the  documents,  but  from  the  way  Pedro  took 
on,  they  were  evidently  of  some  importance. 
He  wheedled  and  whined  and  pleaded  and  then 
cursed  and  threatened,  but  all  that  only  con- 
firmed the  boys  in  their  determination  to  keep 
the  stuff. 

Under  the  persuasion  of  Injun's  club,  Pedro 
was  soon  seated  on  the  pack-horse,  his  legs 
bound  very  tight  beneath  the  horse's  belly  and 
the  cavalcade  started  on  their  sixty-mile  trip. 

The  moon  had  risen  and  shed  a  full, 
silver  flood  over  the  woods  and  the  prairie,  and 
it  was  almost  as  light  as  day.  It  is  said  that 
moonlight  will  make  almost  anything  look  ro- 
mantic; but  it  is  hard  to  believe  that  Pedro, 
clad  in  a  wet,  bedraggled  coat  and  red  flannel 
underwear,  and  with  a  leash  around  his  neck 
and  his  hands  tied  behind  his  back,  could  have 
inspired  anything  but  laughter  in  anybody.  He 
was  "mad  clear  through"  and  his  language  was 
distinctly  not  fit  for  publication — he  had 
292 


The  cavalcade  started  on  its  sixty-mile  trip 


A  PENITENT  PRISONER 

abandoned  all  efforts  to  wheedle  by  this  time, 
having  discovered  that  he  was  not  dealling 
with  children,  as  he  had  at  one  time  supposed 
— and  he  proceeded  to  exhaust  a  very  compre- 
hensive vocabulary  of  profanity  in  what  sound- 
ed like  six  different  languages.  Whitey  stood 
it  for  some  time,  and  then  he  said,  "Now  look 
here,  Pedro,  if  you  say  another  word  before 
sunrise,  I'm  going  to  put  a  gag  into  that  foul 
mouth  of  your's  that'll  keep  you  quiet.  I 
wouldn't  let  even  these  horses  hear  such  talk! 
You  told  me  to  say  my  prayers,  and  now,  I 
think,  under  the  circumstances,  you  better  fol- 
low your  own  advice !" 

And  thus  admonished,  in  addition  to  the  fact 
that  Whitey  drew  the  slip-noose  a  trifle  tighter 
around  Pedro's  Adam's  apple,  that  gentleman 
proceeded  to  subside. 

It  would  be  idle  to  follow  the  incidents  of  the 
long  ride  to  the  Bar  O  ranch — in  fact,  there 
was  no  incident  worth  noting.  Pedro  made 
several  efforts  to  talk  himself  out  of  his  plight, 
and  once,  he  tried  to  get  his  hands  out  of  the 
bonds  that  held  them  and  almost  succeeded. 
293 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

But  what  good  it  would  have  done  if  he 
had  succeeded,  is  not  plain.  The  boys  had  a 
sharp  eye  on  him  at  all  times,  and  his  legs  were 
firmly  bound  beneath  the  horse.  Besides,  In- 
jun was  right  on  hand  and  ready  with  the  club, 
which  would  have  had  a  very  salutary  effect  on 
anybody. 


294 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

BRINGING  HOME  THE  CAPTIVE 

Late  in  the  afternoon,  Bill  Jordan  and  many 
of  the  cow-punchers  stood  near  the  corral  of 
the  Bar  O,  watching  Walker  break  one  of  the 
green  horses.  Walker  was  having  a  more  than 
ordinarily  hard  time  with  the  animal,  which 
evinced  an  extraordinary  viciousness.  No  one 
saw  the  cavalcade  until  they  were  within  the 
confines  of  the  yard. 

"Sufferin'  Jehosaphat!"  said  Basset,  "will 
yo'  all  give  a  look  at  what's  here?" 

In  two  seconds,  Walker  and  the  horse  per- 
formed without  any  spectators,  and  the  entire 
crowd  made  a  rush  for  the  trio.  No  one  rec- 
ognized Pedro  at  first,  one  reason  being  that 
he  had  further  misbehaved  himself  in  his  use  of 
lurid  language,  and  he  had  been  effectually 
295 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

gagged,  and  the  effect  of  the  red  flannel  under- 
wear was  somewhat  startling. 

Injun,  too,  presented  a  slightly  ultra  effect  in 
Pedro's  trousers  which  hung  down  and  com- 
pletely concealed  his  feet,  and  gave  him  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  boy  with  the  legs  of  a  very  tall 
man;  and  the  huge  club  that  he  brandished 
threateningly  at  the  dejected  looking  Pedro 
added  to  the  picturesqueness  of  the  get-up.  The 
entire  party  were  worn  out  and  travel-stained, 
and  presented  a  most  "shot-to-pieces"  aspect. 
But  notwithstanding  his  condition,  Whitey  was 
jubilant. 

As  they  drew  near  the  group  of  cow-men, 
Whitey  shouted :  "You  told  us  to  bring  back 
something,  and  I  guess  we  did!" 

Bill  Jordan  drew  nearer,  eyeing  the  group 
intently  and  convulsed  with  laughter  at  their 
appearance. 

"I  reckon  yo'  shore  did,"  said  Bill,  who  was 
plainly  puzzled,  "but  what  is  it?" 

"I  don't  believe  you  need  any  introduction  to 
the  gentleman,"  said  Whitey,  "but  if  you  do, 
I'll  present  you  to  him.  He  didn't  want  to 


BRINGING  HOME  THE  CAPTIVE 

come,  but  Injun  and  I  persuaded  him  to  accept 
an  invitation  to  spend  some  time  with  us.  Mr. 
Jordan  and  gentlemen  of  the  Bar  O,  allow  me 
to  present  Mr.  Pedro !  He  would  like  to  shake 
hands  with  you  all,  but  circumstances  prevent !" 

And  with  this,  Whitey  removed  the  handker- 
chief that  acted  as  a  gag  and  obscured  the  low- 
er part  of  the  prisoner's  face. 

A  howl  went  up  from  Bill  and  the  ranch 
men  that  must  have  scared  the  cattle  out  on  the 
range,  and  they  crowded  around  the  unhappy 
Pedro  to  assure  themselves  that  it  was  really 
he.  Bill  Jordan  could  scarcely  believe  his  eyes ; 
he  grabbed  the  pack-horse  by  the  bridle  and 
turned  him  around  several  times,  and  viewed 
the  dejected  Pedro  from  all  angles;  then  he 
fixed  his  eyes  on  the  outlaw  and  the  latter 
quailed  under  the  glance. 

"I  shore  am  plumb  devastated  with  six  kinds 
o'  delight  to  meet  yo',  Mister!  An'  I  don't 
doubt  none  thet  th'  gen'lemen  here'll  over-look 
th'  onconventionality  o'  yo'r  makin'  yo'r  debut 
inta  sassiety  'thout  th'  formality  of  havin'  no 
pants  on  to  speak  of.  'Tain't  usual — not  in 
297 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

no  drawin'  rooms  what  I  frequents,  it  ain't — 
but  the'  's  a  Welcome'  onto  the  mat  o'  this 
here  dump  f er  yo',  pants  er  no  pants !" 

"What  kind  of  a  gal.liwumpus  er  ring-tail 
giasticutus  hev'  we  here?"  said  Walker,  who 
had  "finished"  the  broncho,  and  had  come  to 
join  the  group  around  the  boys  and  Pedro. 
"Er  is  it  jes'  somethin'  the  cat  brought  in?" 

"Give  it  another  slant  an'  yo'  won't  need  no 
interduction,"  said  Bill,  as  he  pushed  Walker 
nearer  to  the  unfortunate  Pedro.  Walker 
started  as  he  looked  keenly  at  the  man's  face. 

"Well,  I'll  be  tee-totally  jim-swizzled !" 
shouted  Walker.  "Dog-gone  ef  it  ain't  our  ol' 
frien'  Pedro!  Why,  Pedro,  ain't  yo'  'shamed 
to  be  gallivantin'  'round  all  ondressed  up,  like 
yo'be?  But,  never  mind,  Ol' Top!  We  all  is 
goin'  to  pervide  yo'  with  a  nice  wooden  over- 
coat thet'll  cover  up  them  red-flannel  laigs  o' 
yo'r'n  so  't  they  don't  flag  the  Overland  Lim- 
ited: 

"Ain't  it  a  shame  we  ain't  got  no  camera — 
an'  this  here  thing  settin'  on  thet  hose  in  front 
of  us !  I  reck'n  Pedro's  f  rien's  'd  like  a  pitcher 
298 


BRINGING  HOME  THE  CAPTIVE 

of  'im  in  this  here  get-up  so  's  they  c'd  'member 
how  he  looked  jes'  'fore  he  kicked  off!" 

"I've  got  a  camera,"  said  Whitey,  and  run- 
ning into  the  ranch-house,  he  returned  with  it 
in  a  moment. 

At  the  sight  of  the  camera,  Walker  set  up 
a  howl  of  delight.  "Now,  Mr.  Photogr after," 
he  yelled  to  Whitey,  "yo'  git  th'  machine  in 
kerflukus  an'  I'll  pose  this  flamingo-legged  buz- 
zard inta  divers  an'  sundry  fascinatin'  posi- 
tions !  Yo'  jes'  p'int  that  there  box  at  'im  and 
I'll  do  the  rest!" 

"Hoi'  on!"  said  Charley  Bassett.  "Thet 
there  looks  t'me  like  a  perfec'ly  good  camera — 
ain't  yo'  takin'  an  awful  chanct,  Kid,  a-p'intin' 
fer  at  hunk  o'  dog-meat?" 

"I  guess  the  camera  '11  stand  it,  Charley," 
said  Whitey,  "though  it  has  never  had  a  severe 
test  like  this." 

"Shore !"  said  Walker ;  "Take  a  chanct,  Kid ! 
When  I  gits  through  drapin'  him  'round  the 
scenery,  I  reckon  he'll  be  some  picture-squee  \" 
Walker  grabbed  the  bridle  of  the  horse  on 
which  Pedro  was  perched  and  swung  it  around 
299 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

broadside  to  the  camera.  "Set  up  there,  yo' 
owdacious  varmint,  an'  look  happy  an'  take 
yo  'r  medicine !  Look  happy,  I  tell  you5 !  'F  yo' 
don't  look  happy  right  pronto,  I'll  let  Injun  see 
'f  he  kin  bend  thet  there  fence-post  he's  carry  in' 
over  yo'r  bean !" 

Injun  moved  up  nearer  and  gripped  the 
"fence-post"  entirely  ready  to  carry  out  his 
part  of  the  program. 

"Mebbe  yo'  better  wait  a  minute,  Injun," 
said  Walker,  "till  we  git  the  pitcher;  't  wont 
do  to  sp'ile  him  altogether — yet !"  said  Walker 
significantly. 

"All  set  ?"  asked  Walker.    "Ef  so,  shoot !" 

Whitey  pointed  the  camera  at  Pedro  and  got 
the  proper  focus.  "Hoi'  thet  pose,  yo'  spavined 
coyote!"  yelled  Walker,  at  Pedro.  "Hoi'  it,  I 
tell  you !'  'F  yo5  move,  an  sp'ile  this  here  nega- 
tive, Injun  is  gonna  bust  yo'  one !  Look  right 
at  the  box,  yo'  bashful  an'  blushin  debbytanty ! 
Look  at  th'  box  for  mamma,  an'  see  th'  nice 
birdie  come  out !" 

Whitey  snapped  the  trigger,  and  Basset  was 
much  relieved  to  learn  that  the  lens  had  not 
300 


BRINGING  HOME  THE  CAPTIVE 

cracked.  Under  Walker's  skilful  and  gentle 
posing,  two  or  three  more  pictures  were  taken, 
and  then  Bill  Jordan  called  a  halt. 

"I  guess  thet  's  'bout  'nuff,"  he  said.  "The* 
ain't  no  use  imposin'  on  a  willin'  an*  good- 
natured  pitcher-machine." 

"All  right,"  said  Walker,  "when  does  th' 
festivities  start?"  he  asked  of  Jordan.  "I 
claims  th'  honor  of  furnishin'  th'  rope!" 

"Well,"  said  Jordan,  hesitatingly,  "ef  we  all 
'd  run  'cross  this  here  maverick's  trail  out  in 
the  open,  I  reckon  the  festivities  'd  'a'  begun 
an'  finished,  right  there.  An'  I  certainly  has 
regrets  an'  apologies  'bout  denyin'  yo'  all  th' 
privilege  of  takin'  a  active  part  in  the  obse- 
quies touchin'  on  an'  appertainin'  to  th'  kickin' 
off  o'  this  here  polluted  skunk.  But  this  here 
community  is  committed  to  the  statoots  o'  Law 
an'  Order,  in  sech  case  made  an'  pervided,  as 
The  Good  Book  says ;  an'  I  reckon,  as  long  as 
them  boys  went  out  an'  hog-tied  this  here  ulcer 
onto  th'  decency  an'  fair  name  o'  the  Sovereign 
State  o'  Montana,  he'll  hev'  to  be  tried  by  a 
jury  o'  his  peers — jes'  like  a  respectable  mur- 
301 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

derer  would — tho'  where  they're  going  to  git 
twelve  peers  o'  this  here  low-down  insec',  is 
more'n  I  kin  onderstand !  I  guess  thet  part  of 
it's  up  to  the  Sher'ff." 

"Try  him!"  shouted  Walker,  dashing  his  hat 
onto  the  ground,  in  amazement  and  rage;  "try 
him !  What  in  blazes  does  anybody  want  t'  try 
him  fer?  Don't  ever'body  in  sixteen  states 
know  't  he'd  oughta  bin  hung  ever  sence  he  was 
two  year  old?  Yo'  an'  yo'r  statoots  don't 
ondertake  to  try  no  mad  dog,  do  yo'?  Yo* 
don't  go  out  an'  collect  no  twelve  peers  to  set 
on  a  jury  'fore  'yo're  'lowed  to  shoot  the 
pizen  head  off'n  him,  do  yo'  ?  An'  ef  this  bird 
ain't  worse'n  a  hull  kennel  o'  mad  dogs  an'  a 
nest  o'  rattlers  throwed  in  fer  good  measure, 
then  I'm  plumb  locoed  an'  b'long  into  a  padded 
cell  up  to  the  nut- foundry!'* 

"I  admits  all  yo'  says  in  regards  to  th' 
gen'leman's  character-^in  f ac',  I  may  say  yo* ' 
ain't  done  justice  to  him,  not  in  no  way,  yo* 
ain't  But  thet  ain't  the  p'int — we  got  t'  abide 
by  th'  law,  no  matter  what  he  done,  an'  per- 
sonal inclinations  don't  cut  no  figger.  Ef  't  'd 
302 


BRINGING  HOME  THE  CAPTIVE 

bin  lef  t'  me,  he  'd  V  bin  'requiescat  in  pieces/ 
a  considerable  spell  back.  But  th'  law's  th'  law, 
an5  I  got  t'  hand  him  over  to  th'  a-thor'ties, 
jes'  th'  same's  ef  he  was  a  white  man.  I'm 
plumb  grieved,  but  I  got  t'  do  it  1  Why  didn't 
yo'  bust  him  over  th'  bean  'ith  thet  wand  yo' 
got  there,  Injun  ?"  asked  Bill.  "It  'd  'a'  saved  a 
lot  o'  palaverin'  an'  hard  feelin's  an*  expense 
to  th'  caounty !" 

"Him  say  bring  'im  in!"  said  Injun,  re- 
proachfully, pointing  to  Whitey.  "Me  bust  'im 
now !"  and  Injun  lifted  the  ponderous  club  and 
was  prevented  from  braining  Pedro,  missing 
him  by  a  narrow  margin,  as  Bill  Jordan  de- 
flected the  blow. 

"One  strike!"  said  Walker.  "Give  th'  kid  a 
chanct — he's  entitled  to  two  more !  Go  on,  Kid, 
knock  him  fer  a  three-bagger!" 

"No  more  o'  thet !"  said  Bill,  with  as  much' 
sternness  as  he  could  muster.  "I'll  take  charge 
o'  this  dose  o'  small-pox  an'  put  him  on  the 
ice  till  the  Sher'ff  gets  here.  Walker,  go  call 
up  the  Sher'fFs  office,  an'  tell  him  t'  come  an* 
get  this  here  prize-package.  Seems  t'  me, 
303 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

now't  I  think  of  it,  the's  a  reward  comin'  t' 
yo'  two  kids.  'F  I  remember  right,  the'  was 
quite  some  considerable  sum  put  onto  his  head. 
Seems  like  he  was  some  valuable  to  the  caoun- 

ty-" 

This,  indeed,  turned  out  to  be  true,  and  with- 
in a  short  time,  the  sum  of  two  thousand  dol- 
lars was  paid  over  to  the  representatives  of  the 
boys.  Bill  Jordan  was  selected  by  Injun  as  his 
guardian,  and  Bill  accepted  the  responsibility 
gladly,  but  with  some  misgivings. 

"What  is  yo'  purposin'  to  buy  with  all  this 
here  kale,  Mister  Ping  Pong  Morgan?"  asked 
Bill  of  the  boy.  "Would  yo'  ruther  hev'  a 
steam  yacht  er  a  coupla  railroads?" 

"Pink  pajams!"  said  Injun,  without  any 
hesitation. 

"A  thousand  dollars  worth  of  'em?"  asked 
Bill. 

"Sure!"  said  Injun. 


304 


CHAPTER  XXX 
PEDRO'S  HATRED 

"WHAT  started  the  trouble  between  you  and 
Pedro,  Injun?"  asked  Whitey,  as  they  stood  by 
the  corral  the  next  morning.  Bill  Jordan  had 
just  delivered  Pedro  into  the  hands  of  the 
Sheriff,  and  the  half-breed  had  given  vent  to 
his  opinion  of  Injun  in  the  most  lurid  language 
that  he  had  at  his  command,  seeming  to  blame 
the  boy  for  all  his  woes.  The  tirade  had  been 
interrupted  by  a  blow  in  the  mouth  delivered  by 
the  Sheriff's  heavy  hand ;  but  Pedro  was  taken 
away,  cursing  Injun  volubly,  and  telling  what 
he  would  do  to  him  if  he  ever  were  able  to  get 
his  hands  on  him,  and  the  vehemence  of  the 
man  left  no  doubt  as  to  the  amount  of  venom 
that  was  in  his  heart. 

Injun  grinned  in  answer  to  Whitey's  ques- 
305 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

tion.  "Him  tell,"  he  said,  pointing  to  Bill  Jor- 
dan. Making  a  lengthy  narrative  was  not  ex- 
actly Injun's  long  suit,  and  he  delegated  the 
job  to  Bill. 

"Well,"  said  the  latter,  "it  came  about  this- 
away.  Thet  skunk  hoboed  it  in  here,  one  day, 
'bout  a  year  an*  a  half  ago — when  ol'  man 
Granville  was  alive — an'  he  was  'bout  the 
down-an'-outest  proposition  yo'  ever  see.  He'd 
bin  shot  in  the  shoulder  an'  the  wound  hadn't 
had  no  attention  an'  th'  cuss  was  'bout  all  in. 
He  didn't  hev'  no  horse  ner  no  gun  ner  no 
clothes  t'  speak  of — he  didn't  hev'  nuthin'  'cept 
hunger  an*  thirst  an'  mis'ry.  Nobuddy  'd  'a* 
giv'  five  cents  fer  a  car-load  like  him,  'cept  fer 
fertilizer,  an*  it  shore  did  look  like  he  was 
playin'  hookey  from  the  graveyard  with  the 
ondertaker  on  his  trail  'bout  two  jumps  behind 
him  an'  gainin'  fast.  If  ever  a  guy  stod  'ith 
one  foot  in  th'  grave  an'  t'other  on  a  banana- 
peel  Pedro  was  it. 

"Well,  sir,  ol'  man  Granville  took  him  in — 
th'  ol'  man  jes'  nacher'ly  couldn't  see  nuthin' 
suffer — an*  started  in  t'  renovate  him ;  an'  take 

306 


PEDRO'S  HATRED 


it  from  me,  it  was  some  consider'ble  job.  He 
set  up  nights  an'  nu'sed  thet  low-down  houn' 
back  to  life  an*  health,  an'  saw  't  he  had 
ever'thing — jus'  like  a  white  man  'd  oughta. 
Seems  like  this  here  Pedro  c'd  talk  French  lingo 
an'  so  c'd  ol'  man  Granville.  When  th'  two  of 
'em  was  at  it,  y'd  a  thought  the'  was  a  pack  o' 
fire-crackers  goin'  off,  not  t'  mention  th'  ac- 
tiv'ties  of  their  hands,  which  was  consider'ble. 
'Pears  like  a  man  't  ain't  got  no  arms  'd  be  con- 
sider'ble handicapped  expressin'  himself  lucid. 
"Well,  't  any  rate,"  Bill  went  on,  "in  'bout 
two  months,  Pedro  was  able  to  set  up  an'  take  a 
little  nourishment  while  they  made  his  bed,  an' 
I  c'd  see  't  he  was  a  heap  sight  better  'n  he  let 
on  t'  be.  An'  him  an'  th'  ol'  man  'd  set  onto 
th'  porch  an'  play  pedro  by  th'  hour.  Th'  ol' 
man  liked  th'  game  so  well  he  lent  Pedro  money 
so  's  he  c'd  win  it  back — only  it  didn't  turn  out 
thet  way,  an'  Pedro  was  a  steady  winner — so 
much  so  't  us  boys  giv'  him  thet  name — 'Pedro.' 
An'  I  will  say  't  the  cuss  was  some  gifted  when 
it  come  to  turnin'  a  Jack  off'n  th'  bottom  er 
shiftin'  th'  cut.  I  see  him  pull  them  stunts  one 
307 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

day  when  I  was  watchin'  th'  game,  but  I  didn't 
say  nuthin'  to  th'  ol'  man  'bout  it,  him  bein' 
free,  white,  an'  over  twenty-one  an'  not  relishin' 
bein'  told  he  were  a  sucker — not  at  no  time  he 
didn't !  He  always  'lowed  he  c'd  pertect  him- 
self, an'  mos'  gener'ly  he  could. 

"But  while  I  didn't  say  nuthin',  I  thinks  to 
myself  'what  kind  of  a  hombrey  's  this  thet 
'11  giv'  the  work  to  a  gent  as  has  did  as  much 
fer  him  as  th'  ol'  man  done?'  'Feared  t'  me 
thet  ef  a  guy  yanked  me  back  out  'n  th'  grave 
an'  put  me  on  my  feet,  I  would  flip  no  Jack  off 
'n  th'  bottom  on  him — not  fer  no  money,  I 
wouldn't!  But  't  wa'n't  none  o'«my  business; 
besides,  mebbe  th'  ol'  man  was  jes'  tryin'  him 
out  an'  gittin'  a  line  on  him. 

"An'  'nother  thing — everybody  but  th'  ol' 
man  c'd  see  thet  Pedro  was  soldierin'  on  him 
an'  was  plenty  able  to  get  up  an'  earn  a  livin'. 
But  thet  wa'n't  Pedro's  gait — 's  long's  some- 
buddy  take  care  o'  him,  he  didn't  pear  t'  worry 
none  'bout  takin'  care  of  himself.  An'  he'd 
four-flush  round  'bout  how  sick  he  felt  an'  how 
his  shoulder  hurt,  an'  thet  whiskey  was  'bout 
308 


PEDRO'S  HATRED 


th'  onlies'  thing  't  relieved  him.  An'  he  shore 
licked  up  a  lot  o'  th'  relief !  He  was  Alice-sit- 
by-th'-firewater,  f er  fair !  Lit  up  like  a  Chris- 
mus  tree  at  ten  in  th'  mornin',  an'  oreide  by 
four  in  th'  afternoon — reg'lar. 

"Bimeby,  when  he  did  get  to  goin'  'bout,  he 
got  a  sudden  ambition  f  er  work,  an'  th'  ol'  man 
giv'  him  a  hoss  an'  outfit  an'  he  rode  fence.  An* 
's  far  anybuddy  c'd  see  he  done  pretty  good. 
But  after  a  spell,  things  begun  t'  turn  up 
missin' — not  big  things,  but  trifles — a  little 
money,  now  an'  then,  an'  a  saddle  er  two,  an'  a 
lariat  occasional,  an'  sech.  Pedro  managed  to 
throw  suspicion  at  Injun,  here,  an'  we  got  t' 
thinkin'  thet  mebbe  th'  boy  was  at  the  bottom 
of  them  petty-larceny  goin's  on,  an'  fin'ly,  I 
tells  Injun  he  better  keep  off  'n  th'  ranch. 
Seems  this  didn't  exac'ly  tickle  Injun  t'  death — 
him  not  bein'  no  thief — an'  he  done  a  little 
detectivin'.  He  trails  Pedro  an'  locates  his 
cache  an'  leads  me  an'  Walker  to  it  an'  shows 
us  th'  stuff,  includin'  some  things  we  knowed 
b'longed  to  Pedro.  How  thet  bird  got  wind  of 
it  all  I  dunno,  but  he  did;  a  right  at  th'  same 
309 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

time  me  an'  Walker  was  at  the  cache,  an'  most 
o'  th'  boys  away  from  th'  ranch  house,  he  snuk 
in  a  grabbed  quite  a  roll  of  bills  out  'n  th'  safe 
't  happened  t'  be  open,  an'  took  a  shot  at  ol' 
man  Granville,  nickin'  him  in  th'  arm,  an'  gits 
away  clean !  Yes,  sir — after  all  ol'  man  Gran- 
ville done  f  er  him ! 

"A  spell  afterwards,  he  meets  up  'ith  Injun — 
s'prises  him,  an'  th'  kid  ain't  got  a  chanct  t'  git 
away.  He  starts  in  t'  hev  a  little  hangin'  bee — 
a  necktie-party,  like  I  tol'  you'  'bout — but  he 
made  th'  mistake  o'  lettin'  Injun  set  onto  his 
own  pinto  an'  he  put  the  noose  'round  Injun's 
neck  'fore  he  throwed  th'  other  end  o'  the  lariat 
over  th'  limb  o'  th'  tree!  Th'  minute  he 
throwed  th'  lariat  over  th'  limb,  Injun  dug  his 
knees  inta  th'  pinto — mind  you',  Injun's  hands 
was  tied  behind  his  back — an'  th'  pinto  knowin' 
what  Injun  was  thinkin'  'bout,  like  I  said,  beats 
it  away  from  there  with  th'  lariat  draggin'  on 
th'  ground!  O'  course,  Pedro  took  after  him, 
but  lucky  fer  Injun,  after  he'd  rode  'bout  a 
mile,  he  sights  me  an'  Walker  ridin'  fence,  an' 
Pedro  sights  us,  too.  An'  he  beats  it,  an'  we 
310 


PEDRO'S  HATRED 


never  seen  him  till  yo'  an'  Injun  brung  him  in 
here  t'  git  his  pitcher  took." 

Whitey  took  a  long  breath :  "Gee !"  he  said, 
"That  was  a  narrow  escape !" 

"Correct !"  said  Bill.  "An'  ef  you  don't  think 
it  was  some  trick  fer  thet  kid  t'  set  onta  thet 
hoss,  his  hands  tied  behind  him  an'  th'  lariat 
draggin',  yo'  try  it  sometime !" 

Bill  put  his  hand  on  Injun's  shoulder  affec- 
tionately. "Thet 's  what  I  call  ridin'  a  hoss!" 
he  said. 


CHAPTER  XXXI 

PLANS  FOR  THE  FUTURE 

IF  Columbus,  or  the  early  Norsemen,  or  who 
ever  it  was  that  first  discovered  America,  had 
been  satisfied  to  sail  vessels  within  the  confines 
of  the  known  seas  in  their  immediate  neighbor- 
hood, the  existence  of  this  great  continent 
would  have  remained  unsuspected  by  the  people 
of  the  Old  World.  It  is  the  spirit  of  adventure, 
of  dissatisfaction  with  things  as  they  are,  that 
is  at  the  bottom  of  all  great  discoveries  and  of 
all  progress.  And  although  the  boys  had  gained 
a  wide-spread  fame  on  account  of  their  cap- 
ture of  the  desperate  Pedro,  who  was  even 
then  in  jail  awaiting  the  day  of  his  execution, 
they  did  not  like  to  rest  on  their  laurels,  but, 
like  Alexander,  sought  for  "new  worlds  to 
conquer." 

312 


PLANS  FOR  THE  FUTURE 

After  their  excursion  into  the  wilds,  the  life 
on  the  ranch,  while  by  no  means  dull,  lacked 
the  zest  of  adventure  and  discovery,  of  which 
they  or,  rather,  Whitey,  at  least,  had  had  a 
taste.  Injun  had  spent  all  his  life  in  adventure, 
and  while  it  was  nothing  new  to  him,  it  had 
become  a  sort  of  second  nature,  and  made  the 
limitations  of  even  semi-civilization  irksome. 

And  with  this  urge  going  on  in  Whitey's 
breast,  it  was  natural  that  he  should  inquire 
of  Bill  Jordan,  as  they  sat  on  the  piazza  one 
evening,  "Mr.  Jordan,  what  kind  of  a  place 
is  it  in  the  mountains,  over  beyond  Moose 
Lake?" 

Bill  took  his  pipe  out  of  his  mouth  and  looked 
intently  at  the  boys  before  replying. 

"Was  yo'  calc'latin'  on  goin'  out  an'  grabbin' 
off  some  more  rewards  an'  sech,  bringin'  in 
some  more  hombreys  like  Pedro?  Er  mebbe, 
yo'  all  'd  be  satisfied  t'  locate  a  coupla  gold 
mines  er  somethin'  ?  What  was  yo'  all  studyin* 
'bout  doin'?" 

"I  don't  know  as  I  had  a  definite  plan," 
313 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 

said  Whitey,  "I  just  asked  you  what  kind  of  a 
place  it  was  over  there." 

"Yes,  I  know — yo'  all  didn't  have  no  inten- 
tions— that's  why  yo'  all  wanted  to  know  'bout 
the  place !"  and  Bill  grinned,  tolerantly.  Then, 
after  thinking  a  moment,  he  said,  "As  fur's  the 
place  goes,  I  reckon  it's  some  wild  an'  on- 
cultivated.  I  ain't  bin  through  it  fer  some 
years,  but  I  reckon  't  ain't  changed  none  t' 
speak  of.  Prospectors  give  up  try  in'  there 
long  ago,  an'  I  reckon  'tain't  good  fer  much 
else — consider'ble  amount  o'  rocks  an'  scenery 
— thet's  'bout  all. 

"I  wouldn't  mind  owning  a  gold  mine,"  said 
Whitey.  "That  is,  a  good  one,"  he  qualified. 
Bill  uncrossed  his  legs  suddenly  and  puffed 
rapidly,  as  he  shook  all  over  with  inward  laugh- 
ter. 

"The's  them  's  had  thet  idee  before,  Son," 
he  said,  grinning.  "A  reel  good  gold  mine's  a 
handy  little  thing  t'  hev  'bout  the  house!  I 
dunno's  I'd  turn  one  down  ef  't  was  offered  t' 
me!" 

"Well,"  said  Whitey,  "I  guess  the  only  way 


PLANS  FOR  THE  FUTURE 

to  get  one  is  to  go  out  and  find  it,  isn't  it?  I 
don't  believe  anybody  is  going  around  offering 
'em  to  people." 

"Would  yo'  know  a  perfeckly  good  gold  mine 
'f  yo'  was  t'  meet  it  comin'  'long  the  road?" 
asked  Bill.  "Hev'  yo'  got  a  speakin'  acquaint- 
ance with  gold  mines,  so  't  yo'  c'd  walk  right 
up  to  'em  an'  bid  'em  the  time  o'  day  ?" 

"Well,"  said  Whitey,  "gold  is  gold,  isn't  it? 
I've  been  seeing  it  all  my  life — I  ought  to  know 
it!" 

"Well,"  said  Bill,  "they  don't  dig  it  out  'n  the 
ground  in  the  form  o'  twenty-dollar  gold-pieces 
er  watches  an'  chains  an'  rings — not  this  sea- 
son, they  don't.  Lemme  show  yo'  all  some- 
thin',"  and  Bill  rose  and  went  into  the  ranch- 
house.  In  a  moment,  he  returned  with  a  dirty 
reddish  looking  piece  of  rock  about  the  size  of 
a  hen's  egg  and  handed  it  to  Whitey.  "What 
'd  yo'  calculate  thet  thing  is?"  he  asked,  as  he 
resumed  his  seat. 

Whitey  examined  it,  and  Injun  looked  at  it 
interestedly.  "I  should  say,  if  we  had  not  been 
315 


THE  GOLDEN  WEST  BOYS 


talking  about  gold,  that  it  was  a  piece  of  iron 
ore,  but  now  I  suppose  it's  gold." 

"Correct !"  said  Bill,  "an'  mighty  near  pure 
gold,  too!  Whenever  yo'  come  across  a  few 
tons  o'  stuff  jes'  like  thet,  jes'  yo'  put  'em  in 
yo'r  pocket,  an'  ol'  John  D.  won't  hev  nuthin' 
on  yo'!" 

"Is  there  any  of  it  over  beyond  Moose 
Lake?"  asked  Whitey. 

"Strange  to  say,"  said  Bill,  "thet  there  chunk 
come  from  over  thet  way.  But  I  guess  thet 
was  'bout  all  of  it  the  Lord  put  there,  thet  is, 
in  the  way  o'  quartz — I  reckon  'bout  all  the 
streams  shows  color,  but  they  don't  never  pay 
to  work  'em." 

"Well,  don't  you  think  Injun  and  I " 

"Yes,"  interrupted  Bill.  "I  do.  Ef  yo'  two 
galliwumpuses  hes  made  up  yo'r  minds  t'  go 
out  an'  get  yo'rselfs  a  few  gold  mines,  I  ain't 
th'  man  t'  put  the  kibosh  onto  it — only,  yo'  ain't 
goin'  there  alone — not  ef  I'm  the  lawful  g'ar- 
deen  o'  thet  there  person  'ith  the  passion  fer 
pink  pants,  yo'  ain't !  Yo'  all  kind  o'  got  me  ex- 
cited 'bout  prospectin' — I  ain't  done  none  fer 
316 


PLANS  FOR  THE  FUTURE 

years;  but  onct  it  gits  a  holt  onto  yo',  it  ain't 
easy  shook — an'  as  this  here  ranch  is  a  good 
deal  of  a  pianola  proposition — plays  itself — 
mebbe  I  c'd  find  time  to  go  nosin5  'round  with 
yo'  all  fer  a  spell.  Air  yo'  all  open  fer  a 
pardner?" 

Were  they  open  for  a  partner !  They  were ! 
Nothing  could  have  delighted  the  boys  more 
than  to  have  Bill  accompany  them ;  and  the  next 
few  days  were  spent  in  preparations.  But, 
unfortunately,  things  do  not  always  turn  out 
as  planned.  Plenty  of  things  turned  out — but 
not  according  to  Bill's  schedule.  All  that  will 
be  known  when  Injun  and  Whitey  strike  out 
for  themselves. 


317 


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